Job summary
The Starting Well 0-19 Service are looking to appoint a permanent starting Well Nursery Worker working in the Chester and Chester Rural District,
Post holder will be expected to work flexibly within the District they are appointed to and if needed support colleagues across districts.
The post holder must have access to transport as commuting for community contacts in family homes and within the many Starting Well Children's Centres venues is essential.
Early Years Workers will work as part of the integrated team to deliverstarting well, universal and targeted intervention programmes where it has been identified that a package of support is required to enable the child to meet developmental milestones.
Shortlisting for this vacancy is due to commence on 11/03/2026 and the proposed interview date is 19/03/2026
Main duties of the job
-Deliver outreach support to families with children aged 0-5 to promote school readiness, child development, behaviour management, and speech and language skills through high quality play-based activities both in the children's centre and within the home learning environment. This includes engaging families at different points on the continuum of need. You will support the assessment of the child and family needs, identify risks, and make referrals where issues fall outside the Starting Well remit, this may include supporting and leading TAF. -
To engage families who struggle to access children's centre-based services by offering information, advice, and practical guidance on parenting, Free early years entitlement and employment/education. -To deliver evidence-based interventions based on accurate assessments and work with early years providers to improve Foundation Stage outcomes, readiness for school and parenting aspirations. -
To contribute to public health priorities including breastfeeding, obesity reduction, and wellbeing; working as part of the Integrated Starting Well Team. -
To ensure services reflect EYFS principles and maintain high-quality environments. Participate in supervision, appraisal, and training, maintaining up-to-date knowledge and reflective practice. Provide supervision to junior staff where required and work flexibly across the district to meet service needs.
About us
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP) provides health and care services for a population of over one million people, including mental health, learning disability, community physical health and all-age disability care, as well as the provision of three GP surgeries in Cheshire.
We employ around 4,500 staff across 73 sites and have services across Wirral and Cheshire, as well as Trafford, Warrington, Bolton, Halton, Liverpool and Stockport.
Our aim is to help improve the lives of everyone in our communities, adopting a compassionate, person-centred approach to everything we do. We are rated as Outstanding for Caring by the Care Quality Commission, with a Good rating overall.
As a Disability Confident Employer, Rainbow Badge Scheme member, Veteran Aware organisation and proud holder of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award, CWP is committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible and developing a culture that values differences, and welcome applications from people who have direct experience of accessing our services.
All new starters will commence in post on one fixed start date each month, in line with our Prepare to Care (P2C) induction programme date. P2C offers up to 3 weeks training to support you to meet the induction / initial training requirements of the role.
Whether you are just starting out in your career or looking to use your existing skills and experience in a new role, you'll find something to suit you at CWP.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please download a copy of the job description (see documents to download section below) for full details of the main responsibilities for this role.
At CWP, our recruitment selection processes are based on both competence (see person specification for details) and values.
CWP recruits people that can demonstrate the Trusts Values in their everyday life and we use a values-based approach in our interviews, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and think about how these align with your own personal values. The supporting information section in your application should reflect your understanding of the Trusts Values and associated behaviours and you should provide examples from your work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviours.
An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page. Further help and support for completing your application can be accessed via our website. If you need any further guidance to help you complete your application, contact our recruitment team via email at: cwp.recruitment@nhs.net or by calling 01244 393100.
If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?
Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.
The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post and encourages applications from armed forces reservists or cadet force adult volunteers.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16 per year applies.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team CWP very soon!
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please download a copy of the job description (see documents to download section below) for full details of the main responsibilities for this role.
At CWP, our recruitment selection processes are based on both competence (see person specification for details) and values.
CWP recruits people that can demonstrate the Trusts Values in their everyday life and we use a values-based approach in our interviews, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and think about how these align with your own personal values. The supporting information section in your application should reflect your understanding of the Trusts Values and associated behaviours and you should provide examples from your work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviours.
An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page. Further help and support for completing your application can be accessed via our website. If you need any further guidance to help you complete your application, contact our recruitment team via email at: cwp.recruitment@nhs.net or by calling 01244 393100.
If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?
Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.
The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post and encourages applications from armed forces reservists or cadet force adult volunteers.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16 per year applies.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team CWP very soon!
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree qualification in Early Years or working towards
Desirable
- Early Years Professional Status/Early Years Teacher status
Knowledge
Essential
- Good working knowledge of theories of child development and attachment and evidence based interventions for 0-3 years old
- Good working knowledge of models of assessment, especially the common assessment framework
- Good working knowledge of application of the continuum of need and the various services at different levels across the continuum
- A good working knowledge of development around early intervention/prevention: good working knowledge of the early identification of development delay; understanding of NI 72 and NI 92: safeguarding and the early years foundation stage
- Good working knowledge of models of family support
Desirable
- Good report writing skills
Experience
Essential
- Post qualification experience of working with children, young people and their families
- Experience of working with challenging groups /individuals
Desirable
- Experience of working directly evidence based early years programmes
- Experience in a professional child care setting
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree qualification in Early Years or working towards
Desirable
- Early Years Professional Status/Early Years Teacher status
Knowledge
Essential
- Good working knowledge of theories of child development and attachment and evidence based interventions for 0-3 years old
- Good working knowledge of models of assessment, especially the common assessment framework
- Good working knowledge of application of the continuum of need and the various services at different levels across the continuum
- A good working knowledge of development around early intervention/prevention: good working knowledge of the early identification of development delay; understanding of NI 72 and NI 92: safeguarding and the early years foundation stage
- Good working knowledge of models of family support
Desirable
- Good report writing skills
Experience
Essential
- Post qualification experience of working with children, young people and their families
- Experience of working with challenging groups /individuals
Desirable
- Experience of working directly evidence based early years programmes
- Experience in a professional child care setting
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
