Early Childhood Educator

Reporting to: Headteacher/Deputy Headteacher

Location: Ark Start John Archer (Clapham) or Ark Start Oval (Croydon)

Contract: Permanent

Working Pattern: Full-time (open to flexible working including part-time or term-time only)

Salary: £25,712 to £27,000 dependent on experience and qualifications

Closing date: Ongoing

About the role:

As we expand, we are looking for Level 3 qualified Early Childhood Educator to join the founding team at Ark Start Nurseries. In this role you will provide the highest standards of physical, emotional, social, and intellectual care for all children in your care, you’ll ensure all children are safeguarded and their welfare and safety are promoted, and you’ll work to provide an enabling environment in which all children can play, learn and develop.

We are looking for people with genuine passion for young children, with the skill, creativity, commitment, energy, and enthusiasm required for leading room practice. You’ll be able to take learning beyond the classroom and interact with outdoor and forest learning, cooking, and gardening – this won’t just be another day in the classroom!

Key Responsibilities:

Encouraging young children to enjoy learning about their environment through fun games and activities

Encouraging the development of social awareness through interactions with other children

Ensuring that classrooms and outside play areas are child-friendly and safe

Promoting high standards of the nursery at all times to parents, staff, and visitors

Keep records of all children’s development and learning journals and share this with parents and carers and ensure all record keeping is up to date and accurate

Key Requirements:

Level 3 Diploma in Early Years Education and Care or the willingness to work towards it

Right to work in the UK

An awareness of keeping children safe, noticing safeguarding and welfare concerns, and knowing how and when to take appropriate action

A team player that can work collaboratively as well as using own initiative

About Ark Start:

Our dedicated team work together to ensure that every child has a joyful, engaging, and secure nursery experience and leaves us ready to start school happily and confidently. We are driven by our values in everything we do: Aim High, Be Brave, Be Kind and Keep Learning.

Ark Start is at an exciting time in its evolution. We opened two nurseries in South London last year and aim to expand our reach over the coming years. As we expand, we are looking for Early Childhood Educator to join our founding team. We are looking for someone with a genuine passion for young children and with the skill, creativity, commitment, and energy to deliver excellent provision at Ark Start.

Benefits:

A Real Living Wage Employer: We are a Real Living Wage employer with a minimum salary of £13.15 per hour for all roles in London. We also pay 11% pension contributions

Ongoing Learning: We are committed to providing the best development for all our staff. We close the nurseries for five days each year to focus on staff training and ensure there is protected time for training and supervision each week for every adult. We work hard to ensure there are clear career progression routes

Annual leave: We are proud of our staff and want everyone to feel valued for playing their part. That’s why staff receive 25 days holiday each year, excluding bank holidays

Wellbeing: Staff wellbeing is incredibly important to us. We know that while incredibly rewarding, working in a nursery can be challenging. We therefore work hard to ensure all staff have the support and infrastructure they need to take care of their wellbeing

Part of a Network: Ark Start is part of Ark, a charity that aims to transform children’s lives through education. Ark operates a network of 39 schools across London, Birmingham, Portsmouth, and Hastings as well as a number of charitable ventures. Being part of a network means our staff get access to the opportunities, infrastructure, and support of a large organisation

How to Apply:

Apply with a CV and cover letter on our online recruitment portal. We will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this advert may close depending on the level of response. Interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified.

If you would like to hear more about this role or about Ark Start, please contact [email protected]

This ATS application form should take no longer 20 minutes to complete. At any time, you can pause, save, and log back in. If you have any difficulty with your application, please contact [email protected]

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link.