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Early Years Practitioner

Sevenoaks Day Nursery

Bat & Ball, Sevenoaks

Louise has left us! She joined us as a teenager, passed her L3 with our support and has become a much-loved member of the team, but now, after six years, she’s decided to spread her wings!

We are all very happy for her, but it leaves us with a problem; how to replace her enthusiasm and sunny nature, her professionalism and willingness to muck in, her natural love for children and ease with parents.

Perhaps that’s where you come in?

Louise works in the Pre-School room with Susie and Laura. She starts at 8 or 10, depending on the week, and does 35 hours plus occasional overtime (paid in full or saved in lieu). She gets 25 days holiday (plus Bank Holidays - 9 this year) because she’s been here over 5 years.  You’ll start with 20, but after 10 years this will go up to 30 (6 of our 14 nursery staff will have reached this milestone before the end of the year!).

The Pre-School room is lovely and light, and leads straight into the garden (which has just undergone a transformation of almost ‘Garden Rescue’ proportions). Like the rest of our Nursey, which was purpose-built three years ago, staff helped design it.

But the best bit about the Pre-School room is the children. There are currently 20 a day on average. They come from all walks of life, some with different cultures and some with different needs, but all deserving of your very best endeavours at all times.  7 of them will be your key children and our Famly software will help you manage their progress . . . and keep you in touch with parents. (Don’t worry if you haven’t used Famly before, it’s pretty easy to pick up).

So what do you think?

I haven’t mentioned money yet. Well, it could always be better, £10.45 an hour for a L3, and we continue to do our best to improve it.  As a charity, founded in 1986, we try to keep our fees very affordable (currently £45 a day all in) and although this is a constraint, we don’t have owners or shareholders to pay, so there’s room for manoeuvre.

I could go on and list all the benefits on offer; they’re nice to have but not really all that significant.  Did I mention that we’re open all year with a week off at Christmas?

The important thing is we try our best to make our Nursery a home-from-home for the children . . . and our staff.

I’m James Wallace, the Finance & HR Manager. If you’re interested, please take a look at the job description and email me for an application form: james.wallace@sdn.org.uk

You’ll find a lot of information about us on this website.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope it inspires you to apply.

Sevenoaks Day Nursery recognises its statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children.  To this end we will undertake comprehensive safeguarding checks, including an enhanced DBS check.  Please be aware that it is an offence to apply for this role if you have been barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.

Nursery Cook

Sevenoaks Day Nursery

Bat & Ball, Sevenoaks

The ad below hasn’t yet brought us a suitable replacement for Louise, so I’ll keep this one simple!

We’re looking for a cook.  It’s a permanent position - 51 weeks a year - and perhaps 35 hours a week (9am to 5pm) although we can talk about this.

We really want someone who is passionate about food and can pass this passion on to our children.  There are about 40 lunches a day to prepare (served at around 11:30) and snacks in the mornings and afternoons.  We like our children to have fresh, seasonal, good quality food that tickles their taste buds and encourages them to keep on trying new foods.

If you’re a professional, you’ll know all about the hygiene and health & safety aspects of running a first class kitchen and that’s what we want; first class food served from a first class kitchen.  If, when you arrive, you find that improvements can be made to any aspect of the utilities and equipment then we’ll fully support you to make any beneficial change.

After you’ve settled in, we’d like you to become more involved with the children; perhaps do some baking with them and generally help them to understand about healthy eating.  We wouldn’t be averse to planting out a small kitchen garden!

As for remuneration, you’d be looking at over £20,000 pa after successfully completing three months probation.  There’s 20 days holiday in addition to Bank Holidays and this rises to 25 days after five years’ service and 30 after ten.

Take a look at the full job description (link below) and if you’d like to apply, email me for an application form - james.wallace@sdn.org.uk

Sevenoaks Day Nursery recognises its statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children.  To this end we will undertake comprehensive safeguarding checks, including an enhanced DBS check.  Please be aware that it is an offence to apply for this role if you have been barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.