Dodleston Pre-School Manager Vacancy

Dodleston pre-school outdoor area with gazebo and slide

Location: Dodleston Village Hall, Pulford Lane, Dodleston CH4 9NN – In person

Job title: Pre-School Manager (permanent position)

Salary & benefits: £15,989 per annum based on 26 hours per week. Term-time only, Pension, Parking, Ongoing CPD opportunities

Hours of work: Mon, Tue, Wed & Fri 8.30am – 3.30pm, term-time only

To apply: Please read the below and send a CV to dodlestonpreschoolmanager@gmail.com if you think you’re the ideal candidate!

About Us

Dodleston Pre-School has been established for 35 years in the pretty village of Dodleston, just a few miles outside Chester and near the Welsh border.

It is open for 25 hours a week, split over 4 days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday) and we take children from age 2 up to school age. We are located in Dodleston Village Hall.

At our pre-school, we put children first. We want to create the perfect environment for them to develop their own personalities with a space they feel safe in. Our outside space is most important to us. We are an outdoor setting, so the children spend most of their time outside, come rain or shine.

Our relaxing environment means they can build the confidence to explore and learn, boasting both exciting and challenging activities that aim to inspire young minds and encourage their natural instinct and curiosity. We have a large hall and outdoor area, and are strong advocates of learning through play and child-led activities.  

We believe in encouraging each child so they can reach their potential. Every child is treated as an individual and encouraged to participate in activities that relate to their personal interests. We learn what they do and don’t like, as well as their rate of learning so we can educate them accordingly. It’s certainly not a ‘one size fits all’ approach at Dodleston.

We provide an inclusive environment in which all children are able to thrive and reach their full potential regardless of any additional needs. 

Job description

Reporting to our Management Committee, the Manager’s role is to:

  • Ensure the provision of safe, high-quality care and education for the Early Years children aged between 2 to 4 years
  • Fulfil legal and statutory requirements and lead the staff on a day-to-day basis, ensuring that all obligations are met.

The successful candidate will be passionate about early years, an enthusiastic team leader with an ethos to match ours and someone with a good working knowledge of SENDCo responsibilities and procedures. 

They will be a team player who holds:

  • A minimum L3 qualification from the Ofsted-approved list, with at least 2 years’ experience in an Early Years setting
  • A suitable level 2 qualification in Maths, or this must be achieved within 2 years of starting the position (EYFS)
  • At least 1 year in a manager or deputy role or other suitable experience is desirable. 

An enhanced DBS check will be required for the successful applicant, as well as 2 references.

Safeguarding requirement: Dodleston Pre-School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. It is a requirement of all staff that they share this commitment and follow the prescribed policy and procedures to continuously promote a culture of safeguarding across the whole organisation.

Main Duties to include (but not limited to):

– Education and Curriculum: to ensure that all children have access to stimulating play experiences with a knowledge and regard to the new EYFS; to observe, support and extend; to organise staff deployment to enable the best outcomes for both the children and the setting as a whole

– Team Leadership: to take responsibility for performance management systems, including supporting staff in carrying out their roles; to work alongside the Deputy to supervise staff, identify and provide training as appropriate; to support staff wellbeing; to lead regular staff meetings.

– Observation and Assessment: to be responsible for systems of observation and record keeping; to liaise with Ofsted and other professionals as necessary to ensure that all statutory requirements are met.

– Policies, Procedures and Safeguarding: to ensure the welfare and safety of children within the setting at all times and that the proper records are maintained; to review and update policies at least annually; to work with the business manager to ensure GDPR compliance

– Communicating with parents / carers & other key partners and extracurricular events: to liaise with families and other professionals where appropriate, providing and exchanging information and feedback; to allocate keyworkers to all children; to organise and oversee pre-school events (as allowed); to update and maintain Tapestry

– SENCo role: to regularly review the SEN policy and practices, being responsible on a day-to-day basis for its implementation; to identify any potential SEN requirements; to support practitioners in implementing approaches for individuals; to ensure record keeping is maintained and used to guide decision making; to liaise with other professionals as well as parents/carers; to understand local authority support for SEN, including ‘local offer’ support and services

– Additional duties: Setting up and packing away each day; assisting children with personal care; carrying out on-going cleaning alongside the other staff members; developing opportunities to further our existing offering; working alongside the business manager to increase pre-school recognition and revenue; to undertake any other reasonable duties as directed by the committee in accordance with the pre-school’s objectives.

More detailed information and guidance will be supplied upon application.

This job description is not an exhaustive list of duties and the post holder will be required to undertake any other reasonable duties discussed and directed by the Committee. The post holder is also expected to be flexible and adaptable in their approach to fulfilling their duties.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) and does require an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check. Applicants must be prepared to disclose any convictions they may have and any orders which have been made against them.

Dodleston Pre-School is an Equal Opportunities employer; applicants are welcome from all backgrounds and posts are open to all.

Person specification

Essential criteria:

  1. At least 2 years’ proven experience of working in an early years’ care and education setting and 1 year in a Deputy or Manager role (other suitable experience is desirable)
  2. Level 3 early years education and childcare qualification or equivalent
  3. A suitable level 2 qualification in Maths, or this must be achieved within 2 years of appointment to the role
  4. Experience of delivering staff training to the wider staff team
  5. Experience of creating and reviewing policies
  6. Experience of creating health and safety plans, fire check schedules and knowledge of critical incidence plans and policies
  7. Ability to identify and address areas of staff weakness and develop targets to address these
  8. Ability to act professionally at all times and balance staff needs with the needs of the setting as a whole
  9. Excellent organisational skills
  10. Ability to see the ‘bigger picture’ and work with committee and staff to secure the future of the preschool
  11. Awareness of the following documents and how they relate to your role; ’Inspecting safeguarding in the early years, education and skills setting’, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’
  12. Awareness of the 3 ‘Is’ and how this relates to practice and provision
  13. Ability to ensure that the setting achieves and maintains at least a ‘Good’ Ofsted rating.
  14. Sound understanding of child development, and of children’s needs
  15. Ability to plan and implement a pre-school curriculum, taking into account the SEN Code of Practice, child protection procedures and equal opportunities considerations
  16. Demonstrable and detailed knowledge of current legislation relevant to the early years
  17. Understanding of the Prevent Duty in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, as it relates to early years settings
  18. Ability to comply with the requirements placed on the setting by the EYFS
  19. Ability to work with parents and families to encourage their involvement
  20. Ability to work with the Business Manager and Committee to effectively market the setting to maximise occupancy levels and fee income
  21. Ability to effectively lead and manage a team, including conducting performance management processes e.g. induction, supervision meetings, appraisals and setting objectives
  22. Demonstrate a commitment to continuously promoting a culture of safeguarding
  23. Commitment to equal opportunities and an understanding of equality and diversity issues
  24. Ability to write clear reports
  25. Knowledge of data protection and information management practices and their application within the setting
  26. Safeguarding Lead Experience would be preferred: 

 In line with the government’s Keeping Children Safe in Education statutory guidance:

  • Liaising with statutory children’s services and the Safeguarding Children Partnership (CSP) 
  • Providing support, advice and guidance for staff. This should be on an on-going basis and cover specific safeguarding issues as required
  • Attending a child protection course that educates in identification, understanding and responding appropriately to signs of abuse and neglect
  • Maintaining a good understanding and sound knowledge of the risks that may present to children and how this can manifest. This will underpin implementation of policies and procedures with clarity and good communication systems so that everyone, including staff, parents and children, can engage in processes that safeguard and protect all children
  • Demonstrating a child-centred approach. This should be reflected in decision making and professional judgements and will ultimately be driven by desire to achieve best possible outcomes for the child through actions taken.
  1. Experience of the SENCO role including
  • Ensuring all practitioners in the setting understand their responsibilities to children with SEN and the setting’s approach to identifying and meeting SEN
  • Advising and supporting colleagues
  • Ensuring parents are closely involved throughout and that their insights inform action taken by the setting
  • Liaising with professionals or agencies beyond the setting
  • Ensuring all practitioners in the setting understand their responsibilities to children with SEN and the setting’s approach to identifying and meeting SEN
  1. A passion for early years education and a belief in the benefits of child-led environments.

Desirable criteria:

  1. Experience in a child-led early years environment
  2. Level 6 or 7 childcare qualification is highly desirable. Level 4 or 5 would also be advantageous
  3. Understanding and experience of ‘planning in the moment’ as an approach to practice
  4. Experience of working within an environment of continuous provision.
  5. Experience of dealing with Ofsted

We are an outdoor-focused setting, so we believe that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing! We are also a very rural setting and the local bus service does not align with our opening hours, so a means of getting to/from work is essential.