Job Description – Baby Room Practitioner
Job Title: Baby Room Practitioner
Department: Baby Room
Reports to: Room Lead
Location: Little Munchkins Nursery and Preschool
Hours: Full-time, Monday to Friday, all year round, working on a rota basis:
- 8:00am – 4:30pm
- 9:00am – 5:30pm
Job Purpose
To provide exceptional care and education for babies within the Baby Room, ensuring every child is safe, happy, nurtured, and supported to reach their full potential. The Baby Room Practitioner will deliver outstanding practice, contribute to high-quality teaching and learning, and work collaboratively with the Room Lead and wider nursery team to maintain the highest standards across the setting.
Key Responsibilities
Children's Care and Wellbeing
- Provide the highest quality care, education, and supervision for all babies at all times.
- Promote babies' physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development through warm, responsive, and meaningful interactions.
- Build positive, professional relationships with babies, parents, and colleagues.
- Ensure each baby's individual care routines and developmental needs are recognised and met.
- Follow safeguarding, health and safety, and nursery policies and procedures at all times.
Teaching and Learning
- Plan, prepare, and deliver engaging, age-appropriate activities that support babies' interests, development, and individual learning needs.
- Ensure the nursery's curriculum is fully embedded into everyday practice, consistently delivering its intent through high-quality teaching, purposeful interactions, and learning experiences.
- Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the setting's curriculum and implement it effectively throughout the day.
- Provide high-quality learning opportunities throughout the day, making every interaction meaningful.
- Support babies in achieving their individual next steps through purposeful play and exploration.
- Create stimulating, nurturing, and enabling learning environments both indoors and outdoors.
- Ensure learning opportunities are available during all routines, including care routines, free play, sensory experiences, meal times, sleep routines, and outdoor play.
- Adapt teaching approaches to meet each baby's individual needs, interests, and stage of development, ensuring every child is supported and appropriately challenged.
Observation, Assessment and Planning
- Complete accurate and timely observations of babies' learning and development.
- Carry out ongoing assessments in line with the nursery's curriculum and assessment procedures.
- Identify and plan individual next steps to support continuous progress.
- Maintain high-quality learning records and documentation.
- Contribute to planning meetings and curriculum development.
Communication and Language Development
- Consistently model rich vocabulary and extended language to develop babies' early communication and language skills.
- Encourage communication through singing, stories, conversations, gestures, play, and responsive interactions.
- Support babies' confidence, curiosity, and independence through positive communication.
Daily Practice
- Support smooth daily routines including arrivals, departures, bottle feeding, meals, snack times, nappy changing, toileting where appropriate, sleep routines, and transitions.
- Promote independence in line with each baby's stage of development.
- Maintain clean, organised, safe, and welcoming learning environments.
- Ensure resources are prepared and presented to a high standard.
Team Responsibilities
- Support the Room Lead in the daily organisation and smooth running of the Baby Room.
- Demonstrate excellent practice and act as a positive role model for colleagues.
- Work collaboratively with all members of the nursery team.
- Attend staff meetings, supervision sessions, training, and professional development activities.
- Share ideas and contribute positively to continuous improvement.
Professional Responsibilities
- Maintain confidentiality at all times.
- Take responsibility for personal professional development.
- Uphold the nursery's vision, values, and standards of excellence.
- Carry out any other reasonable duties as requested by the Room Lead, Management Team, or Nursery Manager.
Person Specification
Essential
- Level 3 Early Years qualification (or recognised equivalent).
- Sound knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
- Excellent understanding of safeguarding and child protection.
- Strong communication and teamwork skills.
- Passion for providing outstanding care and education for babies.
- Ability to build positive relationships with children, families, and colleagues.
- Good organisational and time management skills.
Desirable
- Paediatric First Aid qualification.
- Food Hygiene certificate.
- Experience working within a baby room.
- Experience supporting children with additional needs.
Key Expectations
The Baby Room Practitioner will:
- Deliver exceptional care and education every day.
- Promote outstanding teaching and learning through purposeful, responsive interactions.
- Use extended language to maximise babies' communication and early learning.
- Complete observations, assessments, and planning to a consistently high standard.
- Support every baby to achieve their individual next steps.
- Work in partnership with the Room Lead to maintain an outstanding learning environment.
- Create learning opportunities throughout every aspect of the nursery day and care routines.
- Demonstrate professionalism, reliability, flexibility, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
- Positively represent the nursery and contribute to its culture of excellence.
Pay: £13.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
