Head Teacher – Job Description
Early years teaching at Little Lamps Nursery requires an enthusiastic, imaginative and energetic individual capable of bringing out the fullest potential in every child. The ideal candidate will be very passionate about working with young children and equally important, have vision and enthusiasm for the moral and spiritual values of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission. They will always strive to create and uphold an environment for teaching and learning that empowers teachers and children to experience maximum growth and positive transformations, ensuring that the values of the school are continually instilled and upheld in accordance with the policies of the governing body and the organisation’s innate higher values.
The Head Teacher of Little Lamps Nursery will be instrumental in ensuring that every child that comes in through the doors of Little Lamps Nursery will acquire a broad spectrum of knowledge, a wide range of skills, deeply rooted moral values, good cultural awareness and strong social skills.
She/ He must have a good knowledge of updated Early Years curriculum requirements for children aged between 2 1/2 to 5 years as a minimum benchmark. He/She will be responsible for assisting all the teachers as well as the children directly, to help to best prepare the children for primary school education as well as equip them with the toolkit they need to carry them successfully through life.
Where the Head Teacher identifies any shortfall which could be a hindrance to the above they must highlight and address the issue by putting an appropriate solution in place quickly and effectively, regularly monitoring the outcomes in a feedback loop.
Typical responsibilities of the job include:
● Developing and implementing lessons and work schemes, using the Early Years Foundation Stage as a framework;
● Maintaining high levels of professional competency and human values, to be an outstanding Foundation Stage class teacher and offer an exemplary role model to the rest of the team;
● Contributing to maintaining and developing the ethos, values and overall purposes of the school;
● Providing a safe and stimulating environment that facilitates learning;
● Organising and supervising play and work activities (for example IT, reading, yoga, cooking, music, dancing, gardening etc);
● Implementing the Local Authorities and Governing Body’s policies on equal opportunity issues for all staff and pupils in relation to sex, gender, race, disability and special needs;
● Ensuring the efficient organisation, management and supervision of all nursery routines and planning around the annual timetable making adaptations as necessary;
● Identifying all special needs and health requirements and putting appropriate measures in place to offer the best services for the protection and benefit of those involved;
● Ensuring the Health & Safety and Safeguarding policies are adhered to and all teachers are fully aware of their individual responsibilities and expectations and work in accordance with the school’s child protection policies and procedures in order to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and to raise any concerns relating to such procedures which may be noted during the course of duty;
● Keeping the First Aid cupboard fully stocked at all times and making sure the fire drill is fully understood;
● Liaising with parents, carers and professionals such as speech therapists and health visitors;
● Keeping parents fully and regularly updated about their respective child’s experiences, using daily progress and activity reports, and where necessary discussing any issues with them promptly, ensuring that an effective system is developed for informing parents about their child’s progress;
● Opening up the school gates and locking it up daily, taking a register at the start and end of the morning and afternoon sessions;
● Arranging vegetarian meals and snacks for all the children and staff that require it, ensuring the correct quantity is catered for daily by the external caterers, and making sure that every child receives and eats their meal, giving assistance where necessary. Ensuring any allergy and dietary requirements are strictly adhered to and special meals are clearly labelled;
● Monitoring and recording progress of both children and teachers/assistant teachers;
● Keeping comprehensive records with respect to staff and children safely and confidentially in accordance with the Data Protection Act;
● Formulating, developing and reviewing the School Record of Self Evaluation and the Aims and Objectives of the Nursery by:
- Establishing the policies through which they shall be achieved
- Leading and managing staff and resources to that end
- Monitoring progress towards their achievement;
- Provide a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum in accordance with the demands of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework for all children;
- Promote high standards of individual child and school achievement and ensure the development of an inspirational and enabling learning environment;
- Promote an ethos and learning climate which enables children to become strong, independent, confident learners;
- Leading by example, providing educational vision and direction to secure the strong and passionate commitment of staff, parents/carers and children;
- Managing the inventory list and expenditure budget, placing orders for books, stationery, educational and play materials, furniture, IT equipment as and when necessary and with the appropriate sign-off;
- Managing the induction, training requirements and schedules for all teachers, approving any special leave requirements with the authorisation of the Board of Governors;
- Arranging for support staff cover when a teacher is unable to work usually due to unforeseen circumstances;
- Conducting termly performance appraisals for all the teachers and teaching assistants and requesting a 360 degree review back from these teachers. Providing regular constructive feedback to the staff as and when necessary;
Ensuring that all aspects of school performance are monitored and evaluated in a robust, cyclical manner and maintaining a record of self-evaluation and areas for improvement, and of progress made in respect of these;
● Managing the administration of the Ofsted registration process and following this maintaining all requirements and preparing for future Ofsted inspections;
● Communicating updates regularly and effectively to the appropriate members of the Board of Directors/Board of Governors/Senior Leadership Team and any other stakeholders involved;
● Contributing to planning improvement which will translate school aims and policies into actions;
● Implementing the Local Authority’s and Governing Body’s policies on equal opportunity issues for all staff and children in relation to sex, gender, race, disability and special needs;
● Assist in the recruitment of good calibre teachers who will be a perfect fit for the team and ethos;
● Assist in the assessment and selection process of children for each batch intake;
● Ensure that a range of legal obligations associated with the proper running of the school (including health and safety matters) are addressed, and providing the Governing Body with sufficient advice and information to enable it to fulfil its legal responsibilities;
● Encourage the development of a culture that offers equality of opportunity to all children and staff;
● Building on establishing the role of the nursery within the community;
● The specific nature and balance of the above duties and responsibilities will vary according to the needs of the nursery and will be shared more as the educational establishment grows.
Key Skills for Little Lamps Nursery Teachers
● Adaptability
● Creativity
● Patience
● Responsibility
● Resourcefulness
● A good sense of humour
Qualifications and Training Required
Anyone wishing to apply for the role must have Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS). To do this you can do an Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) course, which has several different paths depending on your situation. Graduates can apply for a PGCE (Postgraduate or Professional Graduate Certificate in Education) with an Early Years specialism. Alternatively, one could apply for a SCITT (School-Centred Initial Teacher Training) programme. The Teach First and School Direct programmes also cover Early Years education. It is also possible to do an undergraduate degree in a relevant subject, which is usually a Bachelor of Education or a Bachelor of Arts/Science with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). There is also an assessment-only route for graduates who also have a substantial amount of experience.
Previous experience of working with children is essential. It would be desirable that the candidate has had some solid experience in managing or running a successful nursery. A second language is also desirable. DBS checks must be in place. Paediatric first aid training will be organised before starting the role.
All candidates must possess GCSEs (at least grade C) or equivalent in English and Maths. A science or technology background can be helpful, as can extra skills such as music, arts and crafts.