Practitioner

Job Introduction

We’re looking for vibrant and enthusiastic people to join us in our mission to provide outstanding support and services to families. Your role will involve direct work with families.

We understand the pressure of family life and know that most families need additional help every now and again. We offer support for families across 17 Children’s Centres, offering a range of services for families with children from 0 to 5 years old, as well as for expectant parents.

Four of our centres have been further developed as Family Centres offering a wider range of services for the whole family, including older children and grandparents.

We have exciting opportunities available to join our team, with a variety of permanent and fixed term contracts with full and part time hours available.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment. Background checks will be required.

Main Responsibility

• Support the delivery of a range of activities in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, providing positive child-centred learning opportunities through a range of targeted and universal sessions.
• Work as part of a team to offer family support, enabling parents to gain confidence in their role as a parent.
• Where appropriate, work with other professionals to meet the needs of children and families.
• Work as a team to run outreach sessions for target families who find it difficult to access our centres.
• Have an awareness and understanding of safeguarding and health and safety policies and procedures

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The Ideal Candidate

• Early Education or Childcare related qualification level 3, with some practical experience of working with children and families.
• Have high aspirations for all children and families.
• Open, friendly and enjoy talking to people.
• Flexible as you may be asked to work in other centres.
• Practical knowledge of a range of early childhood services available to support parents e.g. childcare, education, health and employment support.
• Ability to demonstrate empathy and respect confidentiality.
• Ability to develop appropriate relationships with others to ensure that positive outcomes for children and families are met or exceeded.
• Awareness and understanding of safeguarding and health and safety policies and procedures.

Package Description

In addition to your salary, we offer a range of benefits including:

• Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28 days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32 days after five years.  In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.

• Excellent pension – everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.

• A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support and a childcare subsidy.

• Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.

• Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.

Our roles are either designated ‘site based’ or ‘home based’. ‘Site based’ roles can include up to two days a week working from home whilst ‘home based’ roles are based at home four days a week.  Of course, managers designate which category roles are in based on the needs of the service and the circumstances.

About The Organisation

Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live.

We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference. 

We’re very proud of our diversity and are committed to having a workforce that reflects the community we serve. Whatever your background, you will be welcome here if you share our values of being dedicated, respectful and collaborative.

We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it’s time for a new role.

If you’d like to know more about how we do things and what matters to us, take a look at our short booklet What makes us Milton Keynes City Council.