Early Years Support Worker

Overview

Are you passionate about making a real difference in the lives of children and their families? We’re looking for someone who thrives on supporting early development, delivering a variety of early years programmes, and leading fun, inclusive sessions at our family centres to join us as an Early Years Support Worker.

If you’re solution-focused, warm, dynamic, and responsive, and love working with people from all walks of life, this could be the perfect role for you!

This is a fixed term / secondment role until 30th September 2026

About us

Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK and yet it is incredibly well connected– only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.

We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey. You will be entitled to a range of different benefits to make sure you are happy both at work and at home.

About the role

This will include supporting the delivery of a range of early year’s programmes, including parent workshops as well as leading our universal open access sessions at a network of family centres.

You will be planning a range of high-quality activities to promote child development alongside parental engagement. You will then deliver these sessions, welcoming all families including those who may benefit from additional support.

You will be working collaboratively with the team to ensure children and families transition successfully between universal and targeted services according to their needs.

The post will be based in the Chiltern and South Bucks locality team and cover 5 family centres.

These centres are:

• Amersham Family Centre
• Beaconsfield Family Centre
• Burnham Family Centre
• Newtown Family Centre Plus (Chesham)
• The Ivers Family Centre

Information can be found about each of these centres and the programme on offer on the Buckinghamshire Family Information Service website: https://familyinfo.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/familycentres/

Mobile:

A ‘mobile’ role gives you the flexibility to schedule your own diary outside of your planned delivery, so you will meet with colleagues and clients in a variety of locations. You’ll access digital folders and resources on your laptop and be able to use the network wherever you are based.

About you

Are you dynamic, passionate and dedicated to bringing about positive change for Children and Families across Buckinghamshire?

Are you able to build and sustain positive relationships with colleagues and key partner agencies whilst supporting a reflective culture in the team?

You will need to be able to demonstrate an understanding of relationship management and have the capacity to establish and maintain effective communication within the team to enable each team member to maximise their contribution to service delivery.

You must have significant experience of multi-disciplinary and partnership working to achieve the best outcomes for children, young people and their families.

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

Other information

If you would like to find out more about this role, please contact Jayne Foster at [email protected] 

Closing date: Midnight on Sunday 28th December

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/