Job Introduction
Would you like to join an employee-owned organisation that has topped the UK ‘Best Companies to Work For’ lists for 15 years, as well as been rated ‘World Class’ for its respect and support of colleagues, and ‘Climate Positive’ for its environmental achievements? Now is your chance! We have an opportunity for an Apprentice Nursery Nurse to join the team at our Meadow View Day Nursery in Newport Pagnell.
As an Apprentice Nursery Nurse you will play a key role in ensuring that young children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. Your work-based training with our in-house Training Academy will support you to develop an understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which will enable you to deliver effective opportunities for learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old.
During your apprenticeship you will work 37.5 hours a week. Your Assessor will visit you regularly at the nursery to set you coursework and to review your progress. You will have the opportunity each week to complete some of your coursework within your working hours, and you will be required to complete the rest at home. Throughout your apprenticeship, you will attend monthly group training sessions at our Head Office in Newport Pagnell, which will further support your learning and enhance your knowledge.
We are able to offer the Level 2 Early Years Practitioner qualification and the Level 3 Early Years Educator qualification, and if your application is shortlisted we will assess which level is most appropriate for you.
Once you have provided all essential documentation and we have completed our onboarding process (including obtaining satisfactory references and a DBS check), you will be invited to start at the nursery at the end of June/beginning of July. Your induction onto the apprenticeship with our Training Academy will take place during the first two weeks of July A level 2 apprenticeship will last approximately 12-15 months and a level 3 will last 18-20 months. Upon completion of your apprenticeship, you will have the opportunity to apply for Qualified Nursery Practitioner roles within our partnership.
In return for your desire towards starting a successful career in early years, we are offering a pay rate of £5.55 per hour with this apprenticeship. After 6 months in post, if you are aged 17 or above, your pay rate will increase to £9.00 per hour.
In order to satisfy the funding criteria, this apprenticeship is open to you if you are able to evidence you have the right to work and study in the UK, you have resided here for at least 3 years before the start of the apprenticeship, and you can provide photographic ID in the form of a passport or driving licence. Unfortunately, your application will be rejected if you are not able to meet this criteria.
If you don’t already hold GCSEs at grade C/4 or above in English and Maths, you will be required to complete Functional Skills qualifications alongside your early years course and we will facilitate this for you as part of your apprenticeship.
Main Responsibility
- Through positive interaction and purposeful engagement, you will ensure the individual needs of every child in your care are met so that they thrive in our setting
- You will work as part of a team to create and maintain a safe and supportive environment both indoors and out, which enables children to confidently explore, experiment and grow. The activities you help to plan and implement will support children’s language and literacy, art and design, numeracy and physical development. You will evaluate what you plan to ensure the learning opportunities are appropriate and high quality
- Under the guidance of your colleagues, you will observe and monitor children's progress, making appropriate links to the EYFS. You will use your observations to influence future activities
- You will respectfully engage with parents, colleagues and external professionals in order to successfully work in partnership to uphold children's well-being
The Ideal Candidate
You are passionate and enthusiastic about starting a career in early years and you have aspirations to continue working with children beyond your apprenticeship. You’re naturally nurturing, eager to learn and able to prioritise your workload to meet deadlines.
Package Description
- 22 days annual leave increasing with length of service
- Potential for an annual tax-free cash bonus as an employee-owner
- Cash rewards for going ‘Beyond Expectation’
- 50% childcare discount from day one
- Annual awards dinner, staff conferences and nursery achievement celebrations
- Unlimited recommend a friend scheme (up to £1000 per recommendation)
- Qualification reward payments
- Digital learning journeys and paperless planning
About the Company
Fun is an essential ingredient in all Childbase Partnership nurseries where the care and education opportunities for each and every child are as extraordinary as our colleagues who provide them.
As an employee-owned business, each and every one of our colleagues is empowered and encouraged to contribute towards the success of our future partnership through the sharing of ideas, opinions, experience and expertise. If we all contribute, we all benefit; we truly believe that.
Our Diversity Forum ensures our policy and practice is wholly inclusive and that discrimination, in all its forms, has no place within our company. Employee inclusivity, happiness and well-being is central to decision making across our partnership and as such, we invest in award-winning training, mentoring and career development programmes, in addition to offering a range of colleague perks and rewards. Your well-being, happiness and success is important to us.
We are a ‘climate positive’ business which means we save more greenhouse gas emissions than we generate, and we are committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2030. For every new colleague we welcome to our partnership we plant a tree in a Madagascan rainforest. How amazing is that?
The Important Bits:
Successful applicants will need to provide ‘right to work in the UK’ documentation, undertake a DBS check and provide satisfactory references, prior to commencing employment with us. If your application is successful, our Recruitment and Compliance Team will be there to support you through our onboarding process, every step of the way.
