Early Years Worker

The role

We are looking for an Early Years Worker to support within the creche and Developmental Programme for 2-3 year olds, providing a range of quality, play based early years experiences for children aged up to 4 years living within the Sure Start ward areas.

Ballymena & Little Steps Sure Start provides a range of health, play & learning and parenting support services to children, from pre-birth up to four years, and their families. The project comprises a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary team and works in close partnership with a range of local Statutory, Voluntary and Community service providers to promote effective service delivery in response to the needs of the expectant parents, children and families across the designated SureStart areas.

As an Early Years Worker you will be working as part of a team within the creche and Developmental Programme for 2-3 year old's to provide a range of developmentally appropriate play experiences to support children's personal, social, emotional, cognitive and SLC skills. You will be using a range of tools to monitor and assess the children's progress and development. You will support within group play sessions as well as undertaking a range of home visits to support with the development of play skills. Services are provided from 3 centre bases across the localities, within the home setting or through outreach activities to local pre-school, Church and Community settings. You will be expected to work flexibly across all 3 sites in the Antrim and Ballymena localities. Action for children have an extensive e-learning training package, which will be offered to you alongside other relevant training.

You will make a difference by:

 - Supporting children within a creche setting; providing a range of developmentally appropriate play experiences to support children's personal, social, emotional, cognitive, physical and SLC skills.

 - Undertaking a range of home visits including promotional visits and / or visits developing play skills with children aged under 4 years and their parents/carers.

- Developing successful relationships with children and their families.

 - Observing and tracking children's development and sharing this with parents/ carers and other professionals.

 - Being responsible for the planning, development and delivery of individual and group-based services, which support families in providing their children with the best start in life.

You will need:

 - A minimum Diploma Level 2 in Childcare or equivalent relevant qualification (applications will be considered from those who are working towards the achievement of a relevant qualification).

 - Experience of working with children aged under 4 years.

- A genuine interest in childcare and a true passion and love for children.

 - A thorough understanding of child protection and Safeguarding.

 - Excellent communication skills and the ability to engage with people of all ages and backgrounds.

 - An understanding of the physical, intellectual, linguistic, social and emotional growth as part of child development.

 - An ability to understand and support transitions for children.

 - The ability to travel across Antrim and Ballymena on a regular basis. The job requires the ability to travel according to the needs of the job, with reasonable adjustments, if required, according to the Equality Act.

The way we work

We work to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. Have a look at our behaviours and values to understand more about the way we work here.
 

Rewards

We want our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, a comprehensive employer-matched pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts on our dedicated benefits portal. Find out more about our exclusive Action for Children benefits here.


For safe and happy childhoods

At Action for Children, we protect and support children and young people, providing practical and emotional care and support, ensuring their voices are heard, and campaigning to bring lasting improvements to their lives. Last year, we helped more than 387,000 children and families across the UK.
 

We are committed to safer recruitment practices to protect our service users; therefore, all applicants are expected to have an understanding of and commitment to safeguarding best-practice.

Action for Children is passionate about promoting equality, valuing diversity and working inclusively. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons particularly people with Disabilities and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic applicants, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.