Early Years Support Officer

•    This is a full-time 37 hours per week post 
•     Your work base is at County Hall, Taunton. However, you will be required to travel to work with providers
•     There is a pro-rata scale for annal leave based on term of employment which starts at 25 days per annum
•    This is a permanent post

We’re working to improve the lives of people in Somerset – and you’ll be a key part of that. Your day-to-day work will involve:

•    Offering guidance, training and support to early years practitioners, monitoring the effectiveness of early years programmes, and ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and standards. 
•    Supporting the development and implementation of early years education strategies and policies, working with colleagues to ensure that early year’s settings across the council are providing high-quality education and care.
•    Developing and maintaining strong relationships with early years providers and other stakeholders.

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you have:

•    A relevant qualification in early childhood education or a related field.
•    Experience in an early year’s education setting.
•    Knowledge of relevant early years legislation, research and standards.
•    Excellent communication skills, and the ability to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders to promote the best outcomes for young children.
•    Experience in monitoring and evaluating early years programmes and practice.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve. 

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more

The salary for the role is Grade 13, ranging from £25,183 to £27,269 per annum.

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Ali Garbett Service Manager: Education Relationships and Early Years Lead Somerset Council
Tel: 01823357847 Email: alison.garbett@somerset.gov.uk

Interviews will take place on Friday 9th May 2025.

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

If you have all the information you need, just hit the apply button - we can’t wait to hear from you.

This post requires a criminal background check via the Disclosure procedure.