Deputy Nursery Manager (XR05)

The setting is seeking an experienced childcare professional to gain managerial experience as a deputy at Rosewood Nursery.

You must hold a Level 3 in Childcare and a relevant degree and have post qualifying experience along with the ability to communicate effectively with parents and team members.

It is essential that you have skills and experience in managing others. It is also essential that candidates have a sound knowledge of Ofsted National Day Care Standards and inspection procedures plus an understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The setting is looking for an approachable member of staff who can demonstrate a professional, self-confident approach to developing a service to meet the individual needs of children, families and team members.

An enhanced DBS check will be required.

Expected Shortlisting Date

06/01/2025

Planned Interview Date

14/01/2025

Main duties of the job

In the absence of the Nursery Manager, the post holder will take charge of the service in conjunction with the Early Years Professional.

The jobholder will assist the manager in the delivery and development, to ensure a high-quality service is provided. The post holder will be expected to work the required shift patterns to support the needs of the service.

To assist the nursery manager in developing individuals and the staff team to support the service. The jobholder will monitor daily health and safety risks within the setting. Deliver a service which supports work-life balance for NHS parents. Monitor occupancy, pay and non-pay expenditures. Daily monitoring to ensure the Ofsted Welfare Requirements are met.

Assist the managers to line manage staff teams of up to 25 members providing support and leadership to develop and promote good practice.

Support the NHS Childcare Strategy, monitor and review childcare standards and in-house policies and procedures as approved by Ofsted.

Assist in the management of the nursery budget to support the setting to reach financial balance.

Assist in identifying and monitoring the health and safety risks within the setting.

Deliver a service and identify specific needs which support work-life balance for NHS parents within the Leeds Health Economy.

About us

LTHT Nurseries provide childcare for 168 children per day in 3 settings across Leeds teaching Hospitals predominately for NHS staff.

The post holder will work collaboratively with the management team and other practitioners (up to 25 staff) to support the delivery of both the care and education for the children of up to 70 families and carers within the setting, whilst sustaining and developing consistent relationships with service users.

To support the management team in delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage across the setting to raise and maintain the excellence of the Early Years Provision through quality interaction with the children.

To support and develop an environment that meets the Ofsted Welfare Requirements and the individual needs of the child and family.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in the shortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while this process is completed, and contact the named contact if you have any questions.

Job description

Job responsibilities

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Qualification

It is essential that the jobholder holds a childcare qualification recognised by Ofsted. (NNEB, CACHE, BTEC and NVQ level 3) and a relevant degree.

It is essential that the jobholder has post qualifying managerial experience.

Experience

• Experience at managing day care settings with knowledge of all Ofsted Welfare Requirements for children and inspection procedures.
• Experience and knowledge in the complete range of services within the staff support/facilities department.
• In monitoring and reviewing policies and procedures and setting and monitoring objectives/Personal Development Plans for team members.
• Assist in recruiting and managing staff.
• Facilitating and chairing team meetings.
• Experience supporting team members to achieve good outcomes of Ofsted inspections, Quality Assurance Schemes, Local Authority initiatives, Investors in People etc.
• Assist in implementing and ensuring consistent service provision and demonstrate the ability of achieving both financial and operational targets.
• Knowledge and experience of childcare initiatives, The Children’s Act 1989 & 2004, The Laming report etc.

THE LEEDS WAY VALUES

Our values are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see this as a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by our staff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are:

• Patient-centred
• Collaborative
• Fair
• Accountable
• Empowered

All our actions and endeavours will be guided and evaluated through these values.

CORE VALUES

The post holder will demonstrate a commitment to:

• Achieve the very best childcare standards and support the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to ensure that it becomes an employer of choice & supporting the development of the childcare strategy across the Leeds Health Economy.
• Support the team in the daily delivery of the service and responding to the individual needs of parents/children.
• Work flexibly to meet the needs of the service and the wider childcare community developing childcare networks in the voluntary, private and independent sectors as well as working with multidisciplinary teams city wide.
• Assist the Manager in developing and maintaining a high-quality service and attaining a Quality Assurance Accreditation/Investors in People.
• Work within a team and give motivation and direction in order to achieve goals in a timely manner within the Trust agreed practices and procedures.
• Provide individual contact with each member of staff to support the mentoring process.
• Ensure positive working relationships especially with the different networks and agencies within the Trust and wider community.

CORE BEHAVIOURS AND SKILLS

The jobholder will:

• Be able to work with a wide variety of tasks at any one time with the ability to work under pressure, prioritise own and team workloads and achieve deadlines.
• Support the manager in leading and managing change with commitment to delivering services to support improving health care for patients.
• Be confident in promoting themselves as a positive role model to team members and parents.
• Be confident in recognizing and dealing with changes in behavioural habits in children, staff, families and other adults.

CORE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

The jobholder will:

• Have a good understanding of how children develop and the different theoretical approaches to development.
• Have experience and the ability to support the manager in supervising and deploying staff in a childcare setting and developing & motivating teams/individuals to achieve team objectives.
• Have knowledge of the DFES Code of Practice for children with special needs and have experience and skills to work in partnership with parents and relevant agencies, to ensure individual needs are met.
• Have knowledge and understanding of Safeguarding and CAF regulations and demonstrate confidence to take the lead in any issue arising within the setting and network with multi-disciplinary teams from the public, private and voluntary sectors.
• Have an understanding of how crucial the childcare services impact on patient care and support the NHS in delivering the Health and Well Being agenda (Boorman Report) and have knowledge of the childcare element of Improving Working Lives standards and how it supports the NHS plan.
• Have an understanding of the food service practices including the legal and Trust food safety requirements.
• Have knowledge of Infection Prevention and the controls put into place within the settings along with the cleaning techniques and contract between the Trust and nurseries.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

The jobholder will:

• Support the manager to develop and ensure effective communication strategies to promote partnership with parents across the service and within the Childcare Support network.
• Communicate effectively with external and internal agencies to maximise opportunities to develop childcare initiatives enabling the Leeds Health Economy to recruit, retain and support employees returning to the NHS.
• Ensure effective communications with Ofsted to support in-house childcare services, any changes and relevant events concerning the in-house provision and providing nursery staff with updated information and opportunities to attend appropriate training relating to deliver the Welfare Requirements.
• Promote an open door policy to encourage effective communication within the nursery team.
• Support the manager in monitoring and auditing policies and procedures to deliver a cohesive service city wide for all NHS parents to access, ensuring team participation and working within the policy and legislation identified by the 1989 Children Act and Ofsted Welfare Requirements.
• Support the manager in delivering the strategic plan and participate as required in local service reconfiguration and identify the impact of change for staff with childcare responsibilities, raising awareness of recruitment and retention issues and using the Organisational Change Management in the process.
• Support the manager to develop and review operational plans for inside and outside the nursery setting and develop risk assessments that support the plan.
• Involve the team in decision making and problem solving as well as maximizing the abilities of team members, delegating work appropriately to meet deadlines and targets.
• Support the manager with recruitment, induction and performance review processes for all childcare staff ensuring that systems are in place to follow Trust policies and procedures on recruitment and the management of staff within the nursery team.
• Ensure all staff have KSF reviews and PDPs which maximize all training opportunities and develop the skills and knowledge of all the childcare team.
• Support the manager to deliver the service within budget, identifying pressures and savings for the Trust and follow the Trust financial guidelines.
• Support the manager to develop and maintain financial systems to support parents (nursery education grants and childcare vouchers/salary sacrifice).
• Support with the review of the Quality Counts Portfolio, update the Self Evaluation Form for Ofsted, Investors in People and prepare for the Early Years Quality Conversation to achieve successful accreditation.
• Support the manager to ensure all Ofsted documentation is up to date and meets all current legislative guidelines under the 1989 Children Act and Ofsted Welfare Requirements and support the nursery to prepare for the Ofsted combined care and education inspections.
• Monitor and maintain staff records authorizing leave, recording sickness, absence and training (both mandatory and non-mandatory) accordingly with the Trust policies and procedures.
• Network with other agencies both internal and external to benchmark our services and gather information for report building.
• Market the services internally and externally to attract more interest/customers and give the settings a competitive advantage within the Early Years framework.
• Be involved in initiatives set by Public Health & Health and Well Being.
• Support the manager to be part of research and development which will help enhance the service and keep all staff, parents, visitors, students and children informed of new initiatives brought in by the Trust/Government/Early Years.
• Take the lead in the Senco role working in partnership with the EYP, practitioners, parents and relevant agencies. Devise Individual Educational Plans to support the child's individual needs and next steps so that activities are differentiated for the necessary level for the child. Attend regular case/review meetings for each individual child.
• Support the EYP in planning and providing safe appropriate child led and adult initiated experiences, activities and play opportunities indoor, outdoor and out-of-setting contexts which will enable the children to develop and learn.
• Promote positive behaviour, self-control and independence through using effective behaviour management strategies and develop children's social, emotional and behavioural skills.
• The job holder will be required to administer prescribed medication and check on each individual child's health and wellbeing whilst at nursery.

This list of duties is not intended to be exhaustive but indicates the main areas of work and may be subject to change after consultation with the post holder to meet the changing needs of the service.

Health and Safety/Risk Management

All staff are responsible for working with their colleagues to maintain and improve the quality of services provided to our patients and other service users. This includes complying at all times with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Policies.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Holds a relevant childcare qualification recognised by Ofsted at a level 3, and a relevant degree, level 5.

Desirable

• Post qualifying managerial experience.
• SEND experience/Qualification.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of managing a day care setting with knowledge of the Ofsted welfare requirements for children and inspection procedures.
• Monitor and review childcare standards and in-house policies and procedures as approved by Ofsted.

Desirable

• Monitoring and reviewing policies and procedures and setting and monitoring objectives/ personal development plans for team members.
• Assist in recruiting and managing staff.