Role Purpose:

We are seeking an enthusiastic individual who will be able to bring ideas and innovation to enhance our children's experience in the nursery. This person will be responsible for mentoring staff and promoting exciting practise to stretch and engage our young learners. This person will be responsible to develop our parent partnership focusing on events to work with the Director and management team to deliver the values and ethos of Wiggles and Giggles Oldbury.

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Main responsibilities:

• To deliver a high standard of learning, development and care for children aged 0-5 years.

• To deputise for the Nursery Manager and Director.

• To supervise and appraise nursery staff as directed

• To ensure that the nursery is a safe environment for children, staff and others.

• To developing partnerships with parents/carers to increase involvement in their child’s development.

• To be responsible for any tasks delegated by the Nursery Manager.

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Main activities:

· To provide a safe, caring, stimulating educational environment, both indoors and outdoors, at all times.

· To deliver an appropriate play based Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum that enables children to make individual progress and to support other staff in doing so

· To help ensure the nursery meets Ofsted requirements at all times

· To undertake designated officer roles as directed.

· To undertake appraisals and supervisions as directed

· To work with other professionals in the local area for the benefit of children and families

· To understand and work to nursery policies and procedures, including how to deal with child protection issues appropriately and how to respond to incidents, accidents, complaints and emergencies

· To plan activities which ensure each child is working towards the early learning goals and support others in doing so

· To be a key person.

· To ensure records are properly maintained

· To liaise closely with parents/carers, informing them about the nursery and its curriculum, exchanging information about children’s progress and encouraging parents’ involvement.

· To work in partnership with senior management team to update and review the self-evaluation and improvement plan.

· To undertake any other reasonable duties as directed, in accordance with the nursery aims and objectives

-Support events that the nursery will hold.

-To lead an age group in the Nursery

-To support social media posts and promoting the nursery.

-Support the development of outdoor learning areas.

-Mentor and guide staff in the different roles that they hold.

-To have an understanding of funding and invoicing.

 

Benefits:

• Company events

• Company pension

• Employee discount

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Oldbury: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (preferred)

Education:

• A-Level or equivalent (required)

Experience:

• Nursery: 3 years (required)

• senior responsibility: 2 years (required)

Licence/Certification:

• level 3 childcare qualification or above (required)

Work Location: In person

Background:

YMCA BlackCountry Group is a group of YMCA charitable companies & associated tradingsubsidiaries (the Association) operating in the Black Country and SouthStaffordshire area. The charity employs around 200 staff across several sites,delivering a wide range of community services including support & advice,accommodation, family work, health & well-being, training & education.

 

YMCA enablespeople to develop their full potential in mind, body and spirit. Inspired by,and faithful to, our Christian values, we create supportive, inclusive andenergizing communities, where young people can truly belong, contribute andthrive.

 

Job Role:

1. Motivated by the desire to help children develop, you will bepart of a team providing high qualitycare for children from birth to 5 years.

2. The post holder will provide a warm and welcoming environmentwithin the Nursery where young children and their families can feel valued andobtain positive help and support.

 

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. To offer support andguidance to parents/carers enabling them to extend their own skills, and byboosting their confidence and self-esteem, ensure the emotional wellbeing oftheir child.

2. To share responsibilityfor the display and maintenance of a safe, stimulating, interactive, learningenvironment in the Nursery.

 

3. To work within theguidelines of the EYFS and assist in the planning, preparation and delivery ofan effective programme of activities to help babies and young children todevelop.

4. To provide stimulatinglearning experiences enabling young children to grow in confidence andindependence.

5. To share responsibilityfor the observation, assessment, monitoring and record keeping of childrenslearning and development using a variety of methods.

6. To record theseobservations and produce individual profiles for each child in your care.

7. To share responsibilityfor providing full access to an effective programme of activities for childrenidentified as requiring additional support.

8. To participate in staffmeetings.

9. To provide cover forpractitioners within the team as necessary.

10. To work in partnership withother professionals involved with the children and their families, i.e. healthvisitors, Childrens centres, speech therapists.

11. To assist with thesupervision and training of students.

12. To care for sick childrenand those suffering minor injury.

13. To be familiar with thefire drill and procedures for the safety of the children.

14. To assist with checkingequipment for safety and suitability to use and preparing resources asappropriate.

15. Responsible for ensuringthe room is cleaned at the end of each day.

16. To assist in theidentification of child protection issues.

17. To access personal andcurriculum development opportunities.

18. To undertake duties in sucha way that ensures a positive multi-cultural approval and with full regard forthe principles and policies in place at the YMCA and comply with the EqualOpportunities & Diversity Policy and Child Protection Procedures within theorganisation.

19. Operate within YMCApolicies and procedures, strictly observing Health & Safety regulations ofcolleagues, parents/carers and yourself and the Safeguarding Children &Young People Policy.

20. Operate within Nurserypolicies and procedures.

21. Ensure all work practice is inclusive, expressed through awholehearted commitment to welcome those of all faiths and none.

22. Undertake any other related duties that are consistent with the job.

 

Person Specification

Relief NurseryPractitioner

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Qualification

Childcare qualification NVQ Level 2, equivalent, or higher

Experience of working in a culturally diverse area and a commitment to equal opportunities in the workplace which creates a welcoming environment for people of all faiths and of none.

 

​Skills

Knowledge of Ofsted Standards.

Knowledge of Early Years Foundation Stage.

Able to speak two or more local community languages

 

General

Ability to travel between sites when required

Current first aid qualification

Ability to respect the YMCAs Christian ethos

THE POST HOLDER MUST AGREE TO AUTHORISE A FULL DBS CHECK. THEY MUST ALSO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF OFSTED.

 

Full job description

Do you have a passion for working with young children?

Are you interested in supporting children and their parents in their child's early stages of development?

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Are you great at interacting with parent/carers and coming up with different and innovative ways to support children's development and increase parent's confidence?

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Have you been working in Early years for a while and looking to take the next step? Then we have the perfect opportunity for you in our Early Years Team at Sandwell Family Hubs

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As Early years senior you will have the opportunity to support and line manage team members alongside delivering Early years sessions. This role will be hub and community based ensuring that our support reaches children and their families in the place where they are most comfortable.

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This role is based in Sandwell and requires the flexibility to work across Sandwell. As part of the role you will be needed to support sessions on an evening and weekend as and when required.

We are looking to appoint an experienced Practitioner with the experience of line management roles and responsibilities. To about the role please read the attached additional information and don't forget to explore in your application how you can meet/have experience as the post requires.

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If you would like an informal chat about the role then please contact Rachel Jesson (rachel.jesson@barnardos.org.uk)

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Although this contract has a permanent status, please be aware that this post is subject to funding currently to 31 March 2026 and therefore should this funding not be extended further, you may be subject to a redundancy consultation or a TUPE arrangement.

This contract is due to expire on 31 March 2026.

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When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document (if applicable). This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.

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Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts this advert might close before the displayed closing date.

Pay & Reward Framework

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We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

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For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

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Workplace Offer: What it means for you

The world of work has changed. We are understanding of what works best for our colleagues both current and future as we look to embrace this new way of working. Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or any combination of these.

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.

• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata

• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme

• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options

• Service related sick pay from day 1

• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution

• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension

• Cycle2work scheme

• Interest free season ticket loans

• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal

• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores

• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc

• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support

• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

• T&C's apply based on contract

 

About Barnardo's

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

 

Our basis and values

• Reference number: 21249

• Job Title: Early Years Senior

• Location: Sandwell

• Locality: Sandwell

• Contract type: Permanent (Fixed term funded post)

• End date: 31/03/2026

• Hours: 37

• Salary: £27,573.00 - £36,389.29 (FTE)

• Closing Date: 5 October 2025

 

Benefits

Discounts at 100's of retailers

Employee suggestion scheme

Company pension

Employee Assistance Programme