Application Pack EARLY YEARS PRACTITIONER Issue Date: 01 Apr 14 LE05.04
Contents About Us. Person Specification. Job Description. Application Guidance Notes. Application Form and Health Questionnaire Equal opportunities Monitoring Form. Issue Date: 01 Apr 14 LE05.04
About Little Einsteins Nurseries Little Einsteins Nurseries is the trading name that the 6 nurseries (Arbroath, Dundee, 2 in Glasgow, Kirkcaldy and Perth) operate under Forth Care Ltd. Little Einsteins ethos and principles are: To provide a safe, secure and stimulating environment for all-round child development To help children develop intellectually through a balance of directed and free choice activities Continuity of care for all children and flexible care routines To create a stimulating and challenging environment, providing opportunities for learning through play and covering the five key areas To encourage children to develop self-control, self-direction and independence To develop self-expression through various activities such as drama, music, storytelling, block building and other forms of play To provide a warm and welcome atmosphere with good staff, child and parent relationships To ensure a safe environment which protects children from harm, abuse and neglect Develop respect for individual and cultural differences Effective use of assessment information to identify needs and plan the next steps for learning and evaluating regularly to meet changing needs High standard of thoughtful and courteous behaviour A good clear concise monitoring and evaluation system and effective use of policies Issue Date: 01 Apr 14 LE05.04
Person Specification Early Years Practitioner Essential Desirable Qualifications NNEB/SVQ 3 Childcare or equivalent. Current first aid certificate. Food hygiene certificate. Skills Good written and verbal skills with adults and children. Car driver. Experience Recent and relevant experience of working with children between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years. Experience of implementing a wide range of activities for babies and young children. Knowledge Knowledge of the 3-5 curriculum frame work Birth to Three/GIRFEC. Knowledge of child development, to ensure records and observations are up to date. Knowledge of National Standards/ HMI requirements. Knowledge of health and safety requirements relevant to childcare settings. Personal attributes Ability to work as part of a team. Willingness to undertake further training and development. Willingness to attend staff meetings outside normal hours. Issue Date: 01 Apr 14 LE05.04
JOB DESCRIPTION: EARLY YEARS PRACTITONER Reports to Nursery Manager JOB OVERVIEW The role of an Early Years Practitioner is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children which encourages their social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development. Achieve Communicate and interact frequently, affectionately and respectfully. Compliance with all National Standards and regulatory requirements. Work as part of a team in order to provide an enabling environment in which all individual children can play, develop and learn. To build and maintain strong partnership working with parents to enable children s needs to be met. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Childcare and Education Respect and observe children s interests. Intervene when needed to maintain safety. Enhance children s play with language, toys and activities. Keep records of your key children s development and learning journeys and share with parents/carers and other key adults in the child s life. Communicate directly with each child at the child s level. Engage and communicate constructively with individual children during activities and routines. Promote and facilitate partnerships with parents/carers and other family members. Encourage and model social behaviour and expectations that are developmentally appropriate. Practice positive behaviour management strategies and techniques in guiding children s behaviour according to policy and procedure. Be attentive, flexible and supportive of children and their families during transitions to and from rooms. Engage with professionals involved in children s care. Issue Date: 01 Apr 14 LE05.04
Health and Safety Supervise children at all times. Demonstrate awareness of the entire group while working with a small group or individual. Adhere to all health and safety policies and procedures. Be fully aware of all emergency and security procedures. Participate in all Fire Drills. Maintain accurate attendance records throughout the day. Complete appropriate paperwork (ie accidents, medication). Report any injury or accident any suspicion of non-accidental injury following the guidelines laid down including Child Protection procedures.. General Be flexible within working practices of the nursery, undertaking other responsible duties where needed, such as domestic tasks, preparation of snack meal, cleaning of equipment etc. Adhere to all Company policies and procedures. Keep completely confidential any information regarding the children, their families or other staff that is acquired as part of the job. Support nursery assistants, students and volunteers. Ensure that the Company s policies on diversity and equal opportunities are adhered to. Undertake any other duties as reasonably requested by line management.
Guidance Notes and Information for all Job Applicants Please read these notes before completing your application form. The application form is the first stage in the selection process and will be used to assess whether or not you will be invited to progress to further selection stages (e.g. interviews, work-based tests). It is therefore important that you complete the application form as clearly and as fully as possible. You will have received a job description and person specification enclosed with your application pack. Please read them carefully before completing the application form to assess whether you feel you have the suitable skills, knowledge and experience to undertake the role. The person specification lists what is required of a candidate to enable them to successfully undertake the role applied for. The requirements for the job are split into essential or desirable. If a candidate does not fulfill the essential requirements they will not be selected for interview. Desirable requirements will only be used where there are a number of candidates who meet the essential criteria. Therefore, in your application, you should aim to show how your skills, knowledge and experience meet the requirements as set out within the person specification. The application form should be typed or written in black ink. CV s are not acceptable as an alternative to completing the application form but you may attach any other relevant information or documents. Personal Details and Prevention of Illegal Working Please enter your personal details as fully and clearly as possible so we can contact you about your application. If you require a work permit to work in the UK, or if you are entitled to work under a spouse s work permit, you must advise us of this fact by ticking the relevant box and providing an expiry date. Under Section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 it is a criminal offence for the Company to employ a person aged 16 or over who does not have the right to work in the UK. You will have such a right if you: Are a British Citizen or have the right of residence in the UK. Are a national of a European Economic Area member state. Possess a Home Office or DFEE permission to work. In order to meet the requirements of the Act we will ask all successful candidates to produce documentation to verify their status. A full list of appropriate documentation will be supplied at this time. Education Please include any education or qualifications you have gained in Britain or overseas. Please start with your highest level qualification first. Please note you may be asked to produce original certificates for any qualifications stated on your application form. Non-vocational Experience Please provide any details of non-vocational (i.e. leisure interests) which you feel will enhance your application. Membership Issue Date 21 Oct 14-7 - LE05.04.01
Please include any membership of institutes or organisations connected with work. Training Courses Please provide details of any relevant training courses that you have attended. References All appointments are subject to receipt of two references satisfactory to the Company. Please give your current or most recent employers as referees. If this is not possible (as you have not been employed before) we will accept references from someone who is able to provide information on your skills and abilities, such as a teacher / lecturer, or colleague within a club. Referees will be contacted directly if you are shortlisted for interview (unless you have specified on the application form for us not to contact referees until we have spoken to you). Therefore please provide full details including telephone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses where available. If appropriate, the authenticity of referees may be checked by direct confidential contact if you are to be offered the appointment. Prior to making your application, you should ensure that those you have provided as referees are willing to provide you with a reference. Present / Most Recent Employment Please continue on an additional sheet of paper if necessary. Employment History Please continue on an additional sheet of paper if necessary. If you have never been employed previously, please give details of any work experience you have undertaken. Please ensure that you list all employment you have had to date. Relevant Experience This is the most important part of your application. You should relate your skills, knowledge and experience to the criteria listed on the Person Specification by giving examples of where and how you have used the skills required for the role. You can use your experiences, skills and knowledge acquired outside of the work environment if it is relevant to your application. Please continue on a separate sheet if necessary Health A satisfactory medical assessment, which may include a medical examination in certain cases, will be required before we confirm any offer of an appointment. Disability The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) defines a person as having a disability if he / she has a long-term physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his / her ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, we are legally required to consider making reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged in the recruitment and selection process. Therefore we are committed to making, where reasonable, any adjustments you specify on the application form or during the recruitment process. Forth Care Ltd positively welcomes applications from disabled people. We will invite all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria of a post to the next stage in the selection process (usually an interview). Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and Police Checks You must give details in this section of any convictions that you may have which are not excluded under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. If, however, the duties of this post give you access to children, older people, those with disabilities, learning Issue Date 21 Oct 14-8 - LE05.04.01
difficulties and other vulnerable groups, in these cases applicants are not entitled to withhold information about convictions which would be regarded as spent for other purposes. If you are required to fully disclose information about spent convictions due to the nature of the post you will also be subject to a clearance report from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). This clearance will be sought after selection but before an appointment is made. Declaration Please ensure that you sign and date the application form. In signing the form you are declaring that the information contained on it and any attached documents you choose to provide are to the best of your knowledge factually correct. If you have knowingly provided false information or withheld information you may be dismissed from any post gained as a result. Data Protection Forth Care Ltd fully complies with terms of the Data Protection Act 1998. The data will only be used for the purposes of recruitment and selection and for monitoring the effectiveness of the Company s equal opportunities policies. The data will not be passed to any third party without your consent, except where the Company is required by law to do so. Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form Forth Care Ltd aims to provide equality of opportunity and access to services and employment at all levels within the Company. We therefore encourage applications from all minority groups. As an equal opportunity employer the Company recognises that a number of groups can be disadvantaged because of factors such as ethnic origin, race, colour, gender, disability, age, trade union activity, marital status, religion, belief or sexual orientation. The aim of the Company s Equal Opportunities Employment Policy is to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on these grounds, nor is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable or are irrelevant to the post. Therefore all applicants are assessed solely on their merits. To help us ensure that our Equal Opportunities Policy is working effectively we ask that you complete the Equal Opportunities monitoring form. The form is confidential and is kept separate from the application form. People who make the selection decisions do not see the Equal Opportunities monitoring form. Issue Date 21 Oct 14-9 - LE05.04.01
Job Application Position applying for Preferred Location (i.e. name of nursery) 1. Personal Details Initial & Surname Address Post Code E-mail address Phone Number Do you hold a current clean driving licence? Yes/No Are you eligible to work in the UK? Yes/No Do you need a work permit to work in the UK? Yes/No Do you have a current work permit? Yes/No Please Return Application To: accounts@litleeinsteinsnurseries.co.uk or post to: Forth Care Ltd Albion House, 1 Mitchelston Drive, Mitchelston Industrial Estate Kirkcaldy KY1 3NF Issue Date 21 Oct 14-10 - LE05.04.01
2. Education/Professional Qualifications School Name and Address Subject(s) Degree/Diploma or Certificate Professional Registration PIN No. (NMC / SSSC) ATTENDANCE ON TRAINING COURSES Course and Duration Date Course title Subjects covered Duration Qualification Yes / No Issue Date 21 Oct 14-11 - LE05.04.01
3. Employment History (current or most recent first) Use a separate sheet of paper if necessary. Name address and phone number Date from to Position held and brief explanation of duties Salary Reason for leaving Can we contact your current employer prior to interview? Have you had any disciplinary issues in previous or current employment? Yes/No Yes/No Issue Date 21 Oct 14-12 - LE05.04.01
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE AND OTHER SUPPORTING INFORMATION The information you provide in this section is very important in assessing your application. Please give details of your skills, knowledge, qualifications, experience and personal qualities which will support your application for the post, relating them to the requirements of the job as laid out in the enclosed Person Specification. Please continue on additional A4 sheets if necessary. Skills / Abilities Knowledge Qualifications Experience Qualities Issue Date 21 Oct 14-13 - LE05.04.01
4. Interest / Hobbies 5. Criminal Convictions Any information given will be completely confidential. Please indicate below any convictions. If you have none please write None. The successful applicant must be a member of the PVG scheme. If the successful applicant is not already a member of the PVG scheme, they will be required to join the scheme which currently costs 59. To support the above, Forth Care Ltd will request a scheme update from PVG on behalf of a successful applicant, to compare with their scheme record. The cost of this is presently 18.00. However if there are any updates detailed on the scheme update we would require a new scheme record which would cost a further 41. The applicant will meet whichever above cost applies. 6. References (this should normally be your present/most recent employer) Reference 1 Name & Address Reference 2 Name & Address e-mail address e-mail address Phone Relationship to applicant Phone Relationship to applicant Issue Date 21 Oct 14-14 - LE05.04.01
7. Statement in support of application Please give the reason for your interest in the post, detailing experience, skills and attributes that you would consider relevant to this position. By signing this application form you are attesting that all information therein is true and correct to the best of your knowledge. Signature Date Print name Issue Date 21 Oct 14-15 - LE05.04.01
Confidential Equal Opportunity Questionnaire Post title: Early Years Practitioner Forth Care Ltd provides equal opportunities for all employees and job applicants and we are working towards having a workforce that reflects the diverse population that we serve. Our policy is to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of race, colour, sex, age, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, marital status, sexual orientation or disability, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable. We use selection criteria and procedures to ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and treated only on the basis of their merits and abilities. All employees are given an equal opportunity and, where appropriate, training and development to progress within the Company. To assist Forth Care Ltd in ensuring the effectiveness of this policy, would you please provide the information overleaf? If you do not complete all the questions it will in no way prejudice the outcome of your application. Forth Care Ltd stores and processes data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the information you give on this form will be treated as confidential and will be used only for monitoring our recruitment processes. By completing this form you give your consent for the information to be used for this purpose. This form will be separated from your job application when we receive it and this information will not be considered as part of the recruitment selection process. Please complete the form by placing a tick in the appropriate boxes in each section overleaf and return along with your application. Thank you for your help and co-operation. Issue Date 21 Oct 14-16 - LE05.04.01
1. What is your ethnic group? (These categories match those used in the 2001 Census.) Please choose ONE section from A to E, then tick one box to show your cultural background. A White B Mixed British Irish Any other White background, (please give details) White and Black Caribbean White and Black African White and Asian Any other Mixed background, (please give details) C - Asian or Asian British Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Any other Asian background, (please give details) D - Black or Black British Caribbean African Any other Black background, (please give details) E - Chinese or any other ethnic group not shown above Chinese Any other, (please give details) 2. Sex: I am Female Male Issue Date 21 Oct 14-17 - LE05.04.01
3. Relationships: I am Single Married Divorced Living with a partner Widowed 4. Disability: I have the following disability (please give details) I do not have a disability 5. My age is: Issue Date 21 Oct 14-18 - LE05.04.01