Nursery Overview Monkey Puzzle are part of an award-winning nursery group, offering high quality childcare in their specially equipped nursery for children aged three months to five years old. Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Cheam (formerly Monkey Puzzle Sutton) is proudly located in Cheam, South London. Monkey Puzzle Cheam is just around the corner, with lots to discover, an amazing home from home environment where we guide children’s learning through the Early Years Foundation Stage ensuring they are ready for school. A large, all seasons outdoor play area and enthusiastic, caring and highly qualified team with each child self-selecting their dedicated key person Monkey Puzzle’s Early Years Team excel in teamwork and will deliver an outstanding learning experience to you as well as supporting you to develop your skills through innovative training. Job Overview The role of an apprentice is to ensure all children receive high quality care, are kept safe and are provided with planned and stimulating play experiences which meet their individual needs and support all aspects of EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage). The apprentice is part of a team responsible for the wellbeing of the children, working closely with the management, building partnerships with parents / carers. The successful candidate has to be creative, fun, able to follow directions to implement new ideas and use a range of strategies to continually improve practice and be committed to achieving their Level 3 Early Years Educator Apprenticeship. Under the guidance of senior staff, you will provide the highest level of care and education for all children attending the setting. This Level 3 apprenticeship training programme develops the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to work in a Early Years setting with the opportunity to take responsibility for leading the Early Years provision. Main responsibilities: To deliver a high standard of learning, development and care for children aged 0-5 years. To ensure that the preschool nursery is a safe environment for children, staff and others. To developing partnerships with parents/carers to increase involvement in their child’s development. To be responsible for any tasks delegated by the Deputy Nursery Manager/Nursery Manager To complete all academic aspects of the apprenticeship Main activities: To provide a safe, caring, stimulating educational environment, both indoors and outdoors, at all times. To deliver an appropriate play based Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum that enables children to make individual progress. To help ensure the preschool nursery meets Ofsted requirements at all times. To understand and work to preschool nursery policies and procedures, including how to deal with child protection issues appropriately and how to respond to incidents, accidents, complaints and emergencies To plan activities which ensure each child is working towards the early learning outcomes. To be a key person. To ensure records are properly maintained, e.g. daily attendance register, accident and incident book, risk assessments To liaise closely with parents/carers, informing them about the nursery and its curriculum, exchanging information about children’s progress and encouraging parents’ involvement. To work in partnership with senior management to update and review the self-evaluation and improvement plan. To undertake any other reasonable duties as directed, in accordance with the preschool aims and objectives Skills and Attributes Empathy and understanding of children under five. Excellent verbal and communication skills with children and parents. Ability to write reports and keep clear and accurate records. Excellent organizational skills Administrative and basic IT skills Calm and caring nature Ability to work as part of a team Able to work on own initiative Personal Qualities Reliable, enthusiastic, and flexible A commitment to quality in all areas, with a high level of motivation and enthusiasm Able to perform under stress A creative thinker A good sense of humour Future Prospects On completion of the apprenticeship you will be a qualified nursery practitioner with the potential to progress into a Room Leader and completion of Level 5 Early Years Lead Practitioner Training Information Over the course of 15 – 18 months (dependent upon the level of course an apprentice is being enrolled onto), you will study units such as health & safety in a childcare setting, holistic child development, safeguarding in a childcare setting, child development, communication with children, purposeful play and educational programmes, supporting children with special educational needs, collaborative working in early years childcare, wellbeing principles for children and at higher levels, child protection, data, supporting key life transitions and behaviour management (these modules may differ). Upon successful completion of the apprenticeship programme, you will achieve a Level 2 or 3 qualification and a TQUK Diploma in Early Years. We and our employer partners are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, so a DBS check will be required for this role. To make you aware, this position is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore all convictions, cautions and bind-overs, including those regarded as ‘spent’ must be declared, and you will be asked about these during the recruitment process. Our delivery of training is through blended learning. Supported by one of our sector specialist tutors, they will deliver teaching sessions using various methods including face to face teaching, Skype, Facetime, telephone and peer virtual classroom whilst using our interactive multi-sensory teaching resources. Teaching sessions are normally bi-weekly or monthly, depending on the learner’s preferred learning style. Additionally, the tutor will provide the support required to ensure the learner enjoys and ultimately successfully achieves their goals and completes their training. We want learners to feel that our team are approachable at any stage of their learning journey. You will initially take an online assessment that will help us to understand your learning style and needs, then we will tailor your learning experience accordingly. We ensure that you stay on track to complete your programme on time by managing your expectations through our state-of-the-art e-portfolio system. At the end of your programme, your learnt knowledge, skills and behaviours will be assessed by an independent assessor in your end point assessment (EPA). As part of the apprenticeship, alongside your job role, 20% of your time in work must be dedicated to developing new skills. This can be any time devoted to learning and improving new skills without interruption.