Early Years Improvement Advisor

Job Description

Organisation:
Leicestershire County Council

Work Location:

County Hall, Glenfield, LE3 8RF

Salary: £43,860 – £47,829 per annum (pro rata for part-time)

Working Hours:

37 hours x 2 (full time)

Contract Type:
Fixed term until 31.03.2029

Closing Date: 9th March 2026

Interview Date(s): 19th March and 23rd March (you will only be required to attend on one date)

An opportunity has arisen for experienced, well‑organised, motivated and enthusiastic individuals to join the Early Years Inclusion and Childcare Service as an Early Years Improvement Advisor.

• Champion the needs of children, particularly the most disadvantaged, ensuring that all children and their families are able to access high quality early education and childcare
• Work closely with Family Hubs and other internal local authority services and external partners to support the Best Start in Life agenda
• Develop and support high quality early years provision across the childcare sector
• Provide advice, guidance and training as set out in the local authority’s statutory duty to ensure high quality provision for pre-schools, day nurseries and childminders who are judged less than good by Ofsted
• Offer advice and guidance regarding children with SEND. Supporting providers to use the graduated approach to assess, plan, do review. Signposting to relevant agencies for further support
• Lead and implement strategies to enable providers to embed equality and diversity and the principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) into their practice
• Implement new and existing initiatives and projects as directed
• Disseminate key safeguarding messages and policies with regard to expectations and local procedures and share information with providers and other stakeholders, to ensure key safeguarding competencies are embedded in practice

An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex‑offenders, please see our policy statement.

To apply for this post, you must be able to evidence in your application how you meet the following criteria:

• Hold a relevant level 6 qualification with outstanding early years practice in the early years sector or a school
• Have an excellent understanding of statutory duties and learning relating to the EYFS phase and Early Years SEND code of practice
• Have experience of observing and evaluating quality learning and providing feedback as part of the early year’s improvement processes
• Have a good understanding of equality and diversity and how this should be promoted for the children of Leicestershire
• Have effective presentation skills which include good communication skills, both written and oral. To be assertive, confident and sensitive to the needs of others and be able to cope with pressure
• Confident use of information and communication technology (ICT). Being able to cope with pressure and meet deadlines
• Have the ability to develop and maintain good working relationships and professional partnerships with people from all backgrounds with the ability to enthuse and motivate others where lived experiences of diverse backgrounds can be shared and celebrated

Our main aim is to improve outcomes for children of Leicestershire. If you are successful, you will be supported by the Extended Leadership team to be creative and solution focused as well as having access to a variety of professional development opportunities. People who work in our service say that we are a caring, approachable, friendly service who work well together and with other professionals.

Staff are made to feel valued and that they are making a difference.

As a Children and Family department we are committed to our vision of becoming a trauma‑informed responsive department. We will strive to create a safe, compassionate environment demonstrated through relationships based on trust, respect, hope and empathy. We will achieve this through a spirit of curiosity, by nurturing connections through relationships, making a deliberate effort to know and understand people.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services…