About the Role

We're seeking a well-qualified teacher to join the Warwickshire Early Years Service, to help us:

• Improve the quality of practice
• Raise educational standards
• Ensure effective safeguarding practice within the Early Years and Childcare arena and monitor compliance
• Build confidence in the delivery of Early Help

This role is suitable for someone with extensive experience working with children aged from birth to five, who has a clear understanding of what high quality early years practice looks like and knows how to achieve this.

Within your career you will have developed the knowledge and skills to support others through coaching and mentoring. You will be confident in the writing and delivery of training and proficient in the use of ICT.

This role is suitable for someone with extensive senior leadership experience, proven ability to improve educational outcomes and experience working beyond their own organisation, for example as a system leader, moderator or in the delivery of training.

The successful candidate will be well organised, have excellent interpersonal skills and be adept at sourcing and analysing information, understanding the key issues in practice and finding solutions.

We are looking for someone who is committed, enthusiastic, dedicated and passionate about improving outcomes for the youngest children in Warwickshire.

If you thrive in a fast- paced environment; can work flexibly, responding quickly to changing situations with a depth of personal resilience, then we look forward to hearing from you.

What do we do ?

The Early Years Service covers a broad remit, it is a busy but exciting role, with competing demands on time.

We have a statutory duty to provide access to support, advice and training and to work directly with early years and childcare providers and Schools where Ofsted indicates improvement is needed. There are 693 early years and childcare providers in Warwickshire.

We support the development of effective safeguarding practice and monitor compliance to the early years foundation stage statutory framework.

We also work closely with our colleagues in the Early Years & Childcare Entitlements, Sufficiency & Business Team, the Birth to five SEND team Early Help, Warwickshire Early Years Hub and Public Health to promote seamless support for children and families.

This post will provide additional capacity to our current team. The role operates county-wide and includes travel to schools, early years settings, wrap around provision, holiday clubs and childminders.

Whilst our office location is in the centre of Warwick, WCC invested in Microsoft technology in 2020 including the use of Surface Pros and MS365 suite which has enabled our workforce to seamlessly transition to community and homeworking.

We have a whole council commitment to flexible working and employee wellbeing. We nurture, support and challenge each other to achieve the best outcomes for all our children.

Key Requirements

• Qualified Teacher Status (0 – 11 yrs) with a minimum of 5 years recent teaching experience within an Early Years context.
• At least 3 years in a senior management position within a school or early years setting.
• Comprehensive knowledge of what constitutes quality in the Early Years Foundation Stage in terms of learning, teaching, assessment, curriculum provision and quality improvement strategies, with evidence of impact in this area.
• A track record of raising standards and the ability to evidence this within the application
• Thorough understanding of current safeguarding legislation and ability to advise schools and settings on good practice and challenge poor practice.
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills alongside personal resilience and a solution focussed and flexible approach.
• The ability to work effectively as part of a team and independently

Applicants must demonstrate how they meet all elements of the person specification and define their understanding of high-quality early years practice.

For further information please see the Job Description and Person Specification.

Additional Information

This organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS disclosure.

For information about the role please contact: Amanda King amandaking@warwickshire.gov.uk

Closing Date: 4th November 2021

To apply for this vacancy please click on the 'Apply' button. Our method of application is online, please note, CV’s should not be submitted unless asked to do so.

If you are unable to apply using the 'Apply' button please contact the Recruitment Centre on hrandpayroll@warwickshire.gov.uk

including your contact details and any relevant screenshots. You will be notified of our shortlisting decision via email, so please check your email on a regular basis after submitting your application.

As part of being a Disability Confident employer we guarantee to interview anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post. By ‘minimum criteria’ we mean that you must provide us with evidence in your application form which demonstrates that you generally meet the level of competence required for each competence outlined in the person specification, as well as meeting any of the qualifications, skills or experience defined as essential in the person specification.

Should you require application forms in an alternative format / language or any adjustments to be made throughout the application process or upon appointment, please contact hrandpayroll@warwickshire.gov.uk and we will make every effort to meet your specific requirements.

Warwickshire County Council (WCC) is committed to equality of opportunity for all employees and is keen to address areas of under representation in its workforce, this is because we really understand the importance of different voices, experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds within our workforce. Therefore, we strongly encourage applications from members of underrepresented groups. WCC has a number of staff network groups which provide peer support and safe spaces for employees who hold these and other identities. See more