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Nursery Practitioner
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Job Description
About Us
The Sheffield College is a further and higher education institution dedicated to providing academic, vocational, and professional qualifications to approximately 13,000 young people and adults annually. Our mission is to transform lives through learning, advocating for inclusivity and diversity at every stage.
About The Role
The Sheffield College is a large, vibrant, and diverse further education college, and we are proud of how the college contributes to transforming lives through learning by meeting local skills needs.
Working for our subsidiary company, Sparks Managed Services, as a Nursery Practitioner, you will provide a nursery facility within The Sheffield College. You will offer a high standard of physical, emotional, social, and intellectual care for children placed in the setting. You will work as part of a team to provide an enabling environment in which all individual children can play, develop, and learn. You will contribute to a high-quality caring environment for children. This includes creating a warm, friendly, and stimulating atmosphere in which the children can develop emotionally, socially, and educationally through individual attention and group activities.
Main Responsibilities
- Ensure the ethos, implementation, and legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are embedded within practice. Work alongside the manager and staff team to ensure that the setting’s philosophy is fulfilled.
- Take an interest in the children and their families, treating them as individuals and with respect. Ensure the provision of a high-quality environment to meet the needs of individual children, having an awareness of any disabilities, family cultures, and medical histories.
- Advise the manager/deputy of any concerns, e.g., over children, parents, the safety of the environment, preserving confidentiality as necessary.
- Provide support for any children with special educational needs and liaise with senior members of staff to promote their welfare and development, as well as supporting all coordinators (e.g., SENCO) and equal opportunities in their duties.
- Always ensure the safety of children and adults, adhering to the health and safety policies and procedures. This includes but is not limited to: risk assessments, supervising the children arriving/leaving the nursery, and visually checking equipment and resources.
- Gain experience of undertaking and maintaining records as required by Ofsted Registration legislations. These include but are not limited to: development records, observations, accident, incident, and risk assessment records as appropriate.
- Undertake a Paediatric First Aid qualification and, once qualified, undertake duties within the nursery approved code of practice.
- Ensure that all relevant work activities underpin the College’s commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. Any concerns about a child/young person are acted on promptly, clearly recorded, referred to the nursery DSL or DSD.
- Work with trainees and students on placements in the College Nursery, as appropriate, by assisting, supporting, and providing appropriate feedback to the Senior Nursery Worker.
- Record and report incidents in relation to allegations/while blowing on staff members who have breached the Child Protection and safeguarding policies and legislations.
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From time to time, these responsibilities may be reviewed so that they evolve as part of the college’s strategic growth and success. You may also be required to take on other tasks related to the job to support the College in the delivery of its strategic aims, without changing the role's main purpose.
Cross College Responsibilities
- Participate in cross-college teams and working groups on key projects.
- Attend relevant internal committees and groups.
- Act as a role model to colleagues, ensuring that the responsibilities of the post are carried out in line with the College’s FREDIE+ values and behaviors.
Student Related Responsibilities
- Ensure anyone who has regular contact with children and young people in their day-to-day responsibilities is safe.
- Work with the Safeguarding Team, ensuring concerns regarding students/apprentices are shared in a timely, accurate manner.
- Be involved in supporting college open days, during the exam season, student enrolment, and any other required events.
Other Responsibilities
- All staff are responsible for ensuring the college provides a safe and sustainable environment for students, staff, and visitors. Support this by:
- Understanding and undertaking the specific responsibilities for their role as documented within the Health and Safety Policies and procedures.
- Ensuring compliance with Data Protection Regulations.
- Ensuring that environmental sustainability is a key consideration in the actions we take, working towards the college’s environmental strategy and net zero ambition.
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If you want to find out more about the role, please contact Abbey Hayes - Head of Nursery Services, Abbey.Hayes@sheffcol.ac.uk
What We Can Offer You
As the successful candidate, you will be offered a salary of £27,101 per annum (this will be pro-rata'd for hours worked) based upon a combination of the skills, knowledge, and experience that you can bring to the role.
Our Benefits
- Enhanced Pension contributions scheme with NEST
- Annual leave - 30 Days (222 hours) + 8 Bank Holidays (59.2 hours) - this includes a discretionary Christmas closure period
- Health and wellbeing, we offer:
- Employee assistance programme through Bupa
- Occupational Health through PAM
- Free eye tests for VDU users
- Free Parking is available at the majority of our campuses
Further information can be found on our Benefits and Career Development pages.
Disability Confident
We are a Disability Confident employer and are committed to removing barriers for applicants with a disability during our recruitment process, upon appointment, and as an employee. Please review our Recruitment Guidelines for Disabled Candidates, which provides further information on reasonable adjustments and how the Disability Confident scheme works in practice. If you require any reasonable adjustments or any support at any point throughout the process, please contact jobs@sheffcol.ac.uk
Armed Forces Covenant
As part of our commitment through the Armed Forces Covenant, we’re pledged to support the Armed Forces Community. Recognizing the value Personnel, Veterans, and military families contribute to our community and country.
Safeguarding
We are an employer who is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students. Successful applicants will be required to have an enhanced DBS check and will be subject to safer recruiting procedures. Further details on our safer recruiting procedures, including the employment of ex-offenders, can be found here: Safeguarding
Next Steps
To apply: Click "apply online" and follow the links to complete the online application. For queries regarding the application process, please contact the Recruitment Team at jobs@sheffcol.ac.uk - CVs are currently not accepted.
As a Leader in Diversity employer, we encourage applications from everyone and value diversity in our workforce.
Closing date: 12th August 2026
Please be aware – If we have a high number of applications, we may decide to close the vacancy earlier.
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