PRE-SCHOOL LEADER (THE MULBERRY BUSH, CASTERTON) JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title: PRE-SCHOOL LEADER Responsible to: Nursery Director Main Purpose: As the Pre-School Room Leader, you will lead the 3-4-year-old room, ensuring a safe, engaging, and enriching environment where children can develop socially, emotionally, and academically. Working closely with the wider school team, you will support children’s transition into formal education, fostering their curiosity and independence through a play-based and structured curriculum. Key Responsibilities: • Lead and manage the pre-school room, providing high-quality care and education for children aged 3-4. • Plan, implement, and evaluate engaging learning activities in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. • Foster a positive and inclusive environment that supports children’s development and well-being. • Work collaboratively with the prep school to ensure a smooth transition to Reception. • Observe, assess, and track children’s progress, maintaining accurate records and communicating effectively with parents and carers. • Supervise and mentor a team of early years practitioners, ensuring high standards of practice. • Ensure safeguarding, health, and safety policies are strictly followed. • Build strong relationships with families, providing regular updates and support. • Promote the values and ethos of the prep school in all aspects of teaching and care. • To ensure all the Nursery Policies, including Keeping Children Safe in Education, Equal Opportunities, Data Protection and Confidentiality, are maintained. To ensure that Every Child Matters and the themes of the Early Years Foundation Stage are reflected in your area of responsibility and that it is consistently within your own practice and that of the Nursery Practitioners. You must promote and support others, to embed within their practice, the seven areas of learning and development: Language and communication • Physical development • • Personal, Social and Emotional Development • Literacy • Mathematics • Understanding the World • Expressive Arts and Design Roles and Responsibilities: To fully support the Nursery Management team in the day to day running of the Nursery by promoting a safe, healthy, stimulating, child-centred environment both indoor and outdoor. • To have responsibility for Pre-School children's activities and resources and the daily direction of another Nursery Practitioner. • To allocate Key Workers for Pre-School children. For those allocated to you, to oversee their care records, (including daily record sheets, learning journals, observations, key assessments, and reporting and communicating this information to parents). • To provide support to colleagues to ensure all children are being provided a range of stimulating learning opportunities at the appropriate level to enable them to achieve their full potential within the Early Years Foundations Stage and beyond. • To support colleagues in completing observations and assessments on children within your care and area of responsibility. • To ensure new starters have completed correct assessments and paperwork. • To act as a Named Co-ordinator relevant to your skills or training as designated by the Nursery Manager or Deputy and support other colleagues in this area. • To ensure your key children are being provided a range of learning opportunities at the appropriate level to enable them to achieve within the Early Years Foundation Stage and beyond. • To provide a happy, secure and stimulating environment that ensures every child has the opportunity to flourish, celebrating all achievements of the child, by showcasing and displaying children’s work in an attractive way. • To complete quality observations and assessments on your key children or within your care. Report back these findings to your group with ideas for future planning to support development of the individual child. • To report any concerns about any children to the SENCO. • To promote inclusion of children with special educational and additional needs. • To offer all children equal opportunities with regard to their gender, disabilities, religious persuasion, racial origins, cultural or linguistic background; in particular, challenge situations where racism or discrimination is displayed. To ensure that children are given awareness of other cultural beliefs and differences. • To ensure that appropriate paperwork is completed in a timely manner. • To ensure that care routines in accordance with parents'/guardians' wishes are adhered to for their child. • To ensure that you and your team offer a good and regular opportunity for parents/guardians to communicate with the key worker or other nursery colleagues. • To ensure the correct procedures are followed to identify any adult entering the premises. • To ensure that every child is collected by someone known to the nursery and if not follow the correct procedure to ensure the safety of the children. Professional and Organisational • To foster a healthy team spirit by supporting the Management team in supervising Nursery Practitioners, Assistants and Students by carrying out supervisory meetings where appropriate under the guidance of the Manager or Deputy Manager. • To liaise with the Nursery management team in organising relevant staffing, effective mentoring of junior colleagues, effective delegation and communication and promoting positive attitudes regarding The Mulberry Bush. • Report any safeguarding concerns (children or colleagues) to management. • To assist with colleagues' inductions and help new colleagues to settle into the Nursery. • To adopt a professional approach in all aspects of this role, including actively using and adhering too and promoting Nursery Policies and Procedures. • To ensure that all the staff child ratios are correct at all times and to organise appropriate cover when necessary. • To attend and contribute to regular Nursery meetings, including whole Nursery meetings and team meetings, during and outside of your normal working hours. • To assist the Nursery management team in organising and supporting Nursery Events held outside of your normal working hours. • To attend Parent’s Evenings and Nursery Events, outside of nursery working hours. • To be punctual and ready to start work at the allocated time. • To adhere to the dress code of the Nursery. • To monitor and maintain the day-to-day hygiene of the rooms. Undertake regular housekeeping audits and report them back to the Nursery management. • To supervise meals and mealtimes and where appropriate. You may be required on occasion to prepare the children’s meals and snacks. • To undertake regular CPD (continuing professional development) training appropriate to furthering your own potential, develop and undergo training required by the management team which will meet the needs and requirements of the Nursery. • To promote and market the transition of children into the Prep School's reception class. • Any other duties appropriate to the post as directed by the Management team. Health and Safety: All staff should be aware of the school’s health and safety policy and implement it as appropriate. Safeguarding: All staff employed by Sedbergh School are expected to take responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young persons for whom they are responsible or with whom they come into contact. These roles and responsibilities provide a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list. Other reasonable duties may be required consistent with the level of this post. Sedbergh School is committed to safeguarding & protecting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. Registered Charity No 1080672