Early Years Improvement Advisor
Contract: Permanent Term Time Only
Location: Hereford
Hours: 7.4
Salary: Soulbury Pay Scale 10-12 £54,125 to £56,871 per annum (£9,282 - £9,753 pro rata per annum)
Closing date: 1 August 2025
The Early Years Improvement Advisory team have a new and exciting opportunity. We are looking for an enthusiastic, experienced early years expert to join our team. You must have QTS and leadership experience to apply for the post. The role is to support our inspiring and high quality early years providers including childminders, nurseries and reception class. You should want the very best for all children within Herefordshire and be able to demonstrate how you have been able to have impact on raising standards of care and education for early years children. We are interested in those with Ofsted inspector experience and expect you to be able to write and deliver high quality training and offer accurate advice and support.
You will be helping support the team to ensure that all children have the best start in life. Key features:
Apply Expertise in Early Childhood Development
- You will use your deep understanding of child development to support high-quality early education.
- You will identify developmental needs and promote play-based, inclusive learning approaches.
Support and Guide Early Years Practitioners
- You will mentor and coach nursery staff, childminders, and educators to enhance their practice.
- You will deliver training sessions and facilitate professional development opportunities
Drive Quality Assurance and Improvement
- You will observe practice, assess provision, and support settings to meet and exceed standards.
- You will help create and implement action plans for continuous improvement.
Implement Policy and Curriculum
- You will advise on the effective delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and other relevant frameworks.
- You will ensure that policies on safeguarding, inclusion, and learning are embedded in practice.
Engage Families and Communities
- You will promote strong partnerships with parents and carers to support children’s learning at home.
- You will collaborate with local services and community partners to enhance outcomes for children.
Monitor, Evaluate, and Report
- You will collect and analyse data to monitor progress and inform strategic decisions.
- You will prepare reports and contribute to local authority planning and evaluation.
We encourage all qualified and interested individuals to submit an application for this important role. If you are passionate about supporting children, families, and educators in creating positive, inclusive learning experiences, we would love to hear from you.
We Offer
A competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:
- Basic Salary of £54,125 to £56,871 per annum (£9,282 - £9,753 pro rata per annum)
- Pension Scheme Enrolment in the Local Government (LGPS)
- Career progression: clear pathways to progress
- Flexible working: flexi-time, job-share, part-time hours and, in some instances, home working
- Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
- Payment of professional membership fees
- Pick your perks – our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.
About Us
Herefordshire is a beautiful, historic county located in the heart of the Marches on the border with Wales. We are one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England with a wealth of unspoilt countryside, distinctive heritage, and lively and attractive market towns.
Our priority in Herefordshire is to keep children safe and give them a great start in life. It’s the priority for the council, our partners and for all of us who work with Children & Young People.
How do we do this? By having dynamic, dedicated, passionate and professional staff who work in a culture that focuses on what we can achieve with children, what they can achieve themselves, and the relationship we build with families and partners to enable this. We have invested heavily in training and developing staff in our relational practice approach with our improvement partner Leeds City Council, so it's an exciting time to join Herefordshire – we believe in investing in you so you can be the best you can be!
Herefordshire has a really strong team ethos. Our teams are passionate about the work they do and the positive difference they and the teams they are in make to people’s lives. This is all underpinned by the focus and support from their managers and the council as a whole.
We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond.
Come to Herefordshire and join the journey.
Herefordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service enhanced check and further pre-employment checks.
The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:
- Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme;
- Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, or their families. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant; and
- Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.
We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond. Therefore, we take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.
Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for more details of this role.
To apply, please submit your CV and complete the supporting statement within the application form, referring to the job description & person specification, detailing how you meet the specific requirements of the role.