Are you looking for an opportunity where you can inspire and motivate very young children in their daily activities and make a positive difference to their formative years? 

About Overdale Community Primary School

‘Respect, Responsibility, Resilience’

Our new school opened in September 2021; it is an amazing purpose-built modern school for the children of Eastfield.  The school offers state-of-the-art facilities, which will be a tremendous boost to children’s academic learning as well as enhancing the value of the local community where it sits.

Alongside this, we have spacious classrooms benefitting from natural light and ventilation, creating the best possible learning environment for our pupils and best possible working conditions for our staff. Outdoors, we have two football pitches, a rounders pitch and a one-mile running track, along with an environmental area and quiet place with logs and other features. We use our outdoor space for orienteering and problem-solving. We can teach numeracy and phonics outdoors, for example, and we also have two outdoor gyms.

We are proud to be a leading school in the area. Together we have built a school that has the highest aspirations for our children to shine, but also one that supports and celebrates our amazing community that we are proud to serve.

You will be working with a new headteacher who has high expectations and is driven to ensure that the school is a place for children to be safe, inspired and challenged to fulfil their potential. Staff wellbeing is high on the leadership’s list of priorities and it is ensured that all of our staff team work collaboratively to help get the best out of each other’s skills and expertise to help drive further improvement in school.

School Therapy Dog

At Overdale School we work hard to ensure that our children feel like school is a home from home. A place they can learn, thrive and be happy. That is why we now have our school therapy dog Buddy. Buddy has been a fantastic addition to our school for our children and our staff. Our pupils love to come and see Buddy and he has an immediate calming effect on our children who might be having a bad day or just need a cuddle. We are seeing lots of benefits already of having our school dog. Improving attendance, a calmer environment, support for our ASD children and much more. His hypoallergenic fur has given children the opportunity to be around a dog and not suffer from a reaction.

Having a dog in school has the potential to help young children to develop in a range of academic, personal and social areas. He is very much a part of our Overdale family, and we love having him around school.

Our Opportunity

We are looking for a Nursery Assistant to join our thriving, friendly school. Our Early Years Offer covers pupils aged two into reception. Our 2-year-old provision (Acorns) was opened in January 2024 with brand-new, purpose-built furniture and resources to support our youngest children’s learning and development.

Opportunities for play are structured around the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance to ensure that all children receive a quality experience that supports their development and love of learning. Play is essential for development and in our EYFS, experiences are planned for the indoor and outdoor environments.

You will play a valuable role in getting children ready to start school, settling into an educational environment, and sparking a love of learning. Your work goes beyond traditional learning, you will promote social skills, independence, and safety; sowing the seeds for our pupils to grow up to become well-rounded individuals.

You will play a key role in supporting our pupils’ learning, play, and overall wellbeing. Under the guidance and supervision of the teaching staff, you will assist with daily routines, lead creative activities, and help deliver tasks aligned with the early learning curriculum. Working closely with teachers and parents, you will help create a nurturing and stimulating environment that fosters each child’s development, curiosity, and love of learning.

Visit our website to find out more about our Early Years Offer.

Essential Qualifications & Experience 

• Hold a qualification that meets the DfE criteria to count towards the EYFS staff: child ratios. (Qualifications can be checked here)
• Experience of working with nursery/ reception children

We can offer you:

• A supportive, cohesive community – relationships throughout the school are welcoming, kind, inclusive and thoughtful
• A vibrant, happy school where we value everyone and have a philosophy of kindness and support for each other
• Children who are enthusiastic about learning and apply our school logo to every day: we listen, we learn, we shine
• A school with an exciting and attractive learning environment
• A leadership team who welcome fresh ideas, traditional values and a sense of teamwork
• Well supported teachers and support professionals who are committed to driving high standards
• An excellent working environment in a beautiful coastal setting

Queries 

Please contact Chloe Bullen on 01609 536 964 or via chloe.bullen@northyorks.gov.uk

Chloe has been engaged to support us with recruiting to this exciting opportunity.

Application Process

Download the job description

Apply online via NYC Jobs

Please contact us if you experience any difficulty with the application process.

Unfortunately, we do not accept CVs.

When applying please take into account the following:

Employment History

In line with KCSIE requirements, please complete your full employment history to ensure any gaps in your education and career history are accounted for.

Suitable References

When completing your application, please provide two employment referees. Generally, this should be your current and most recent Headteacher or line manager. Please note if your former Headteacher or line manager has since left, please use an alternative current senior staff member as they need to be in post at your former location to be able to confirm your details in full.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept personal references or personal email addresses.

Please get in touch for any queries if you are unsure.

Supporting Information

The supporting information section of your application should clearly evidence your ability to meet the requirements we have outlined in the job description & person specification. This will be used to shortlist applicants for this role and therefore it is imperative that you provide evidence as requested.

We are committed to meeting the needs of our diverse community and aim to have a workforce reflecting this diversity. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We have a robust child protection policy and all staff will receive training relevant to their role at induction and throughout employment at the school. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Please note this post is in regulated activity and exempt from the rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and subject to satisfactory references and an enhanced DBS criminal records and barred list check for work with children. An online search may be undertaken as part of the recruitment process on information available in the public domain. Candidates should disclose anything that may be relevant in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.

North Yorkshire Council (NYC) advertise vacancies and process applications on behalf of schools and external organisations (third parties) in North Yorkshire. NYC are not responsible for the recruitment/employment practices of third parties and accept no liability in relation to the vacancy and any subsequent recruitment/employment processes. Further information on how we process your data can be found here.