Early Years and Childcare Advisor

As an Early Years and Childcare Advisor for SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and Inclusion, you will work with early years and childcare providers across West Sussex to provide education and care tailored to meet the needs of individual children with SEND need. They will also lead multi-agency discussion to identify and plan for the needs of children identified with SEND to enable them to make good progress before they start school. You will collaborate and work in partnership with colleagues and a range of organisations, such as early years settings, childminders and out of school provisions, to support every child to achieve their full potential. This role is varied, and the Early Years team are supportive and passionate about ensuring children receive the best experience in early years and childcare, enabling families to have access to childcare for 0-14-year-olds (or up to 18 for children with a disability). Key responsibilities of this role include:

• Reviewing the sufficiency of childcare places and providing business support.
• Compliance of the Early Years entitlement and other funding streams.
• Supporting early years settings to identify children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
• Developing effective professional relationships with providers and customers.
• Observing and modelling practice to staff in early years and childcare settings.
• Reviewing sufficiency of places across a geographical area.
• Keeping up to date with research, safeguarding, regulations, policies, practices, and procedures., For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Grace Hall - Team Manager Early Years SEND and Inclusion at
To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, five years referencing and an occupational health check. Equity, inclusion, and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

Are you passionate about supporting young children to have the best start in life? Do you have experience leading early years and childcare practice? If you enjoy creative solutions and sharing your ideas, we would love to hear from you., As an EYCA, you will need a high level of professional knowledge as well as significant experience of working within the early years and childcare sector and working with children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We are looking for someone who has clear communication skills to offer advice and guidance, and who can adapt and re-prioritise work in response to changes. You will spend a significant amount of time working away from colleagues, so you will need to be organised and self-motivated.,
• Degree level qualification in a relevant field.
• Qualified Teacher Status with Early Years Specialism, Early Years Professional Status, Early Years Teacher Status or Level 6 Play Work qualification.
• Significant experience working in the early years and childcare sector.
• Experience of working with and supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in an Early Years environment.
• Experience of leading change by applying specialist knowledge and providing advice, guidance, and challenge to other professionals.
• Experience of leading early years and childcare practice.
• Evidence of working alongside a range of professionals, working collaboratively to achieve a common goal.
• Evidence of the use of data, to identify and prioritise developments and projects to improve outcome for children. For example, assessment data.
• Experience of working with childminders and the out of school sector.
  
  Early Years and Childcare Advisors (EYCAs) work within the Children, Young People and Learning directorate, which groups all services including Early Help, Children's Social Care and Education and Skills, that work together to put children first and improve outcomes for children and families across West Sussex.
Our Vision is: "From birth every child is nurtured, supported, and given the opportunity to develop well and achieve their full potential in inclusive, safe, inspiring environments. The voice and needs of children and their families is sought and acted upon with holistic needs being identified early and effectively met, enabling children and families to be healthy and thrive."

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance, and are rewarded for the work they do.