Early Years Worker - term time only

The role

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.

Services consist of both individual and group support across Ballymena & Antrim. 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. Although based at our Antrim service, you will be expected to work across all 3 sites in Antrim and Ballymena.

As an Early Years Worker you'll support the development of the creche services including providing a range of quality, play based early years experiences for children under 4 years who attend the creche setting.

The hours of work will usually be:

Monday: 9am – 4.30pm

Tuesday: 9am – 4.30pm

Wednesday: 9am – 5pm

Thursday: 9am-2.30pm

Friday: 9am-12.30pm

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.

- Supporting families to attend centre-based services by providing a support creche.

- Engaging with families with children from pre-birth up to the age of 4 in the catchment area.

- Assessing children's' needs and creating service plans in partnership with them and their families to achieve their desired outcomes.

- 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 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.
 

Please note: Interviews are planned to be held on Thursday, 6th August 2020.


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.