Job Description

Manager/Lead Practitioner

DESCRIPTION OF POST

Managers/Lead Practitioners in early education and childcare settings are defined as those who are wholly responsible for the line management and of all support staff, show consistent leadership, identify and meet the care, support and learning needs of children and contribute to the development and quality assurance of informal learning activities.

Above all the children are at the club to enjoy themselves and have fun after a long day at school or during holidays, it is our joint responsibility to ensure we work as a team to reach this goal.

REQUIREMENTS

SVQ 4 or equivalent or must be willing to undertake new or further qualifications as deemed necessary by SSSC to hold the post of Manager

Registered with PVG scheme and willing to undertake an enhanced check

SSSC registered

RESPONSIBLE TO: Managing Director

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OF POST

Administration

  • Record and report any day to day changes/issues/problems to the Managing Director as required.
  • Ensuring the day to day smooth running of the team and any staff issues are dealt with speedily & effectively.
  • Ensuring that all policies and procedures are adhered to within services day to day and dealing with staff that are not following these
  • Ensuring the smooth day to day running of the services
  • Support and Liaise with Managing Director as required with reports/feedback
  • Check your personal file daily
  • Compile a report to take to monthly staff meetings
  • Provide a good role model for all staff ensuring high standards at all times
  • Organise and oversee regular staff meetings
  • Attendance at staff meetings ensuring to confirm attendance or send apologies within 3 working days of receiving date
  • Record minutes of staff meeting or designate another staff member
  • Report any issues/complaints in line with line management structure/reporting lines. Failure to do so may lead to disciplinary action
  • Recording of new equipment received ensuring that inventory of equipment, CD’s, games and toys etc is kept current
  • Aid in annual inventory update/check & loft clearing & sorting
  • Sign off Paperwork completed by Lead Practitioner (Assistant Manager) Support worker/Student or Volunteer (e.g. - daily sheets, incident/accident extended report forms where appropriate make required additions/amendments and ensuring initials only where necessary.)
  • Ensure all paperwork you are required to do that is time bound, is done so within the specified time period/request
  • Follow up to ensure that Lead Practitioners/Support Workers/ Students and Volunteers have time bound items in on time, collate and pass to managing Director all together
  • Ensure training/holiday/PSV/registrations entries are entered into the appropriate diaries and where appropriate added to daily sheets for reference of other staff
  • Daily, ensure that all daily paperwork is checked, signed and completed by the end of that session
  • Check and file collated booking forms or other requested paperwork
  • Provide information for club newsletter to Managing Director in conjunction with other staff and children
  • Carry out registration meetings, staff appraisals and day to day management of staff
  • Oversee that daily preparation, care, cleanliness and maintenance checks of equipment, resources, playroom and kitchen are carried out and recorded appropriately—record and report to Manager
  • Ensuring adult to child ratio is correct prior to letting staff leave at the end of their shift
  • Oversee the administration of medication and first aid in services
  • Sign in and out daily ensuring time of arrival/exit is logged accurately, check entries of other staff dealing with timekeeping issues as they happen
  • Ensuring that all requests for information are dealt with and responded to within 3 working days
  • Upkeep of files within settings as delegated and implementation of new files as required

During Session and Setting up Play Areas

  • Escorting ensuring that procedures are adhered to at all times and ensuring the reporting and recording of any incidents/issues on arrival at setting and completion of required reports and register sign off
  • Oversee and delegate the preparation of the facility for the day’s activities and arrange resources as appropriate when required by 3.00pm
  • Ensure all escort staff exit the facility at least 15 minutes prior to school finishing times.
  • Ensure Escort leader has the club mobile phone and daily register.
  • Ensure each and every session is child led.
  • Oversee and follow up on duties undertaken or delegated to Support Workers, Students and Volunteers
  • Staff must have their ID visible at all times when on duty
  • Completion of daily paperwork as delegated including risk assessments/Evaluations and Planning
  • Key holder & mobile phone responsibilities
  • Administer first aid as far as knowledge allows and then seek outside help where required
  • Oversee and sign off on any documentation relating to accident/incident completed by Practitioners/Support Workers / Students / volunteers
  • Ensuring security of the services day to day and only those with appointments or current members of the service gain access
  • Ensuring all staff and visitors are signed in and out of the services in line with procedure
  • Greeting Parents/Carers and ensuring good communication between parents/carers and the services
  • Ensuring the administrative duties are completed before the children arrive at the setting
  • In consultation with the children, prepare snack rotas for the children, adhering to Adventures in food land, food hygiene procedures and promoting healthy eating
  • Involving the Children, plan play activities taking into account the ages and stages of development of the children involved
  • Prepare the facility for the day’s activities and arrange resources as appropriate, delegating where necessary
  • Overseeing the play activities of the children, taking part when requested and intervening when required and as appropriate
  • Implementation/production and carrying out of risk assessments for activities, trips/outings etc
  • Replenish resources in partnership with Managing Director
  • Facilitate a fun and safe environment for children to play in by incorporating imaginative and innovative activities in line with setting policies and procedures
  • Children’s evaluation of activities
  • Ensure procedures are followed to make sure the setting is tidy at the end of the session, encouraging children to take part and tidy up after themselves throughout the session
  • Complete daily maintenance checks on equipment and resources
  • Handing out correspondence as delegated
  • Appoint a buddy for new children to the service
  • Ensure completion of paperwork is carried out and new member files are implemented fully
  • Support, Supervise and Motivate Practitioners/Support workers, Students and Volunteers in their role
  • Encourage participation of all the children in activities
  • Monitor the facilitation of a fun and safe environment for children to play in by incorporating imaginative and innovative activities in line with setting policies and procedures
  • Organising emergency staffing cover day to day in line with adult to child (1:8) ratio in Managers absence (all absences must then be reported to Manager on extended report form)
  • Deal with disciplinary recording in line with grievance/disciplinary procedures
  • Completion of administrative duties to be completed before the children arrive at the setting; Including:
  • Updating register/collection rotas for the day
  • Enter into Diary cancellations and additional bookings daily to assist escort
  • Ensuring that all children are collected if required

Quality Assurance

  • Prepare the setting and ensure that the setting meets all requirements according to the Care Inspectorate and the National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 12 years
  • Ensuring that development plans are devised for the continuing improvement of the setting
  • Ensuring that any and all development plans are followed and the setting maintains continual improvement
  • In partnership with the Managing Director liaise with the Care Inspectorate officer for the setting to ensure that the setting maintains high standards of quality and care
  • Issue feedback forms /questionnaires to members/parents/carers/children to seek views on service provision and collate to pass back to Managing Director where necessary.
  • Throughout the Playschemes, ensure questionnaires are available to members
  • Ensure that all staff participate in gathering evidence and assist in keeping the children’s folders current in line with current Date Protection Act 2008 compliance.

Health and Safety

  • Adhering to the health and safety policy and procedures for the setting
  • If staff member informs there is an injury that may affect their ability to perform full duties, implement risk assessment for duties that can be carried out and both parties sign
  • H&S audits (delegate where necessary)
  • Ensuring any accidents or Incidents are recorded correctly to regulation, including any required additional reports
  • Facilitate fire drills and mock evacuations as necessary
  • Adhere to legal responsibilities and duties as described in The Children’s (Scotland) Act 1995, appropriate health and safety acts, and child protection
  • Taking appropriate care for the health and safety of the children, yourself and your colleagues
  • Implementing setting policies, including food safety and child protection
  • Ensure responsibility is taken with regard to Child Protection and H&S to ensure reporting responsibilities are followed
  • On the first working day of each month, check medication cupboard and First Aid boxes for items going out of date. Pass information on if items require to be replenished/updated
  • Check allergies / food intolerance list prior to preparing snack
  • Reading and implementation of risk assessments daily (or as required, but ensuring that if issues arise, risk assessments are followed up)
  • Ensure door entry system and security is followed, challenging members immediately should these be broken
  • Ensure that all staff members inform another staff member when leaving room and always ensure there is enough staff in the room prior to them leaving.

Evaluation

  • Oversea any and all evaluations that the setting will organise
  • Quality assurance of services
  • Oversea the setting is organising and completing evaluations
  • Oversee completion of children’s feedback / evaluation form for evaluation that are used to construct Playscheme planners
  • Ensure questionnaires are available daily during Playschemes, encouraging members to complete and return
  • Encourage members to take and complete evaluation forms, including Care Inspectorate pre inspection questionnaires
  • Be pro active in delegating the task of keeping the grading folders current

Other Duties

  • Cover Playschemes in Supervisory Capacity
  • Purchasing of snack / food and items required for First Aid box as advised by Managing Director on a rota basis with other practitioners if you are unable.
  • Preparation of snack within settings where necessary or designate the role as required.
  • Washing of dishtowels where necessary or designate if required
  • Removal of compost waste bags and excess bin bags where necessary
  • Calculation of bus fares during HPS and checking of bus timetables
  • In overall charge of the Petty Cash and ensuring that all purchases are signed off and countersigned where necessary.
  • Maintain running total and pass balance sheets and receipts to Managing Director when required.
  • Oversee and maintain daily rotas for staff and ensure that no changes are made without prior discussion and agreement
  • Facilitate rotation and cleaning of resources / equipment in partnership between staff, children and service users and recording of these. Rotations should be done monthly and resources must be cleaned prior to the children playing with them.
  • Ensuring only identified staff (Managing Director/Manager) have access to filing cabinets or sensitive locked areas
  • Checking and co-signing time sheets for staff where necessary. Assistant Manager should not have open access to staff records.
  • Submission of all staff time sheet to Managing Director for processing wages when overtime is worked
  • Ensuring that staffing issues e.g. timekeeping, sickness are dealt with on the day and all records passed to Managing Director
  • Collation of information and draft all Playscheme or full day care activity planners. These are time bound.
  • Mobile phone holding responsibilities including responding to calls/ texts and issue of ad hoc placements. New start enquiries should always be directed to Managing Director.
  • When required, find staff to cover for sickness of other staff members
  • Answer calls, emails and texts on club mobile during standard working hours and respond in a professional and timely fashion
  • Assist during fundraising / Registration events
  • Attend training & Networking events as required to assist in your continuing professional development taking records of events and discussion and pass information back to Managing Director where necessary
  • Keep your CPD/Training folder current and completed in accordance with SSSC requirements
  • Assist and be proactive in identification of personal training requirements
  • Assist and be proactive in identification of Support worker/Students and Volunteers training requirements
  • Assist the Managing Director to ensure the setting complies with any and all administration and quality issues that may arise during and after Care Inspectorate Inspections
  • Team building and promoting a positive work environment at all times
  • Challenge racism or discrimination
  • Maintain the highest level of professionalism and confidentiality at all times
  • Undertaking any other reasonable duties, commensurate with job title, as may be determined by the Managing Director

RELATIONSHIPS

The line management structure / reporting Line for this post is as follows:

* This post LEVELS OF RESPONSIBILITY This post has line management responsibility over Assistant Manager/Practitioner, Support workers, Trainees, Students and Volunteers and also has decision making responsibility in the setting.

Acceptance of Job Description
By signing below; the job holder accepts the above detail and acknowledges receipt of a copy of the job description. The original will be held in the employee’s personnel file.
Signed by Employee: ……………………………………………………………………… Date: …………………………………………………….
Signed by Managing Director…………………………………………………………. Date: …………………..………………………………..