Job Introduction
Are you passionate about improving outcomes for young children and strengthening early years practice within the early years?
We are looking for an experienced Teacher and inspiring professional to join our Early Years Team as an Early Years Senior Consultant (Improvement) as we strive to improve outcomes for children and increase Staffordshire’s Good Level of Development to 78.9% by 2028.
This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of the Best Start in Life programme and to make a lasting difference to children, families and communities by supporting the development of high-quality, inclusive early education across Staffordshire.
Based from Staffordshire Place One, working across the County, you will play a key role in supporting settings, schools and partners to improve practice, improve outcomes and ensure every child has the best possible start in life.
This role is fixed-term for 2 years.
For information, please note that there is currently an ongoing review within Children and Families to realign individual teams and the wider team’s ways of working. As a result, this role may be affected by the review. For further information, please speak to the hiring manager.
Main Responsibility
- Work with setting leaders and practitioners to strengthen curriculum design, assessment and teaching across the Early Years Foundation Stage, focussing specifically on the Reception year.
- Support schools and settings to improve children’s progress with a particular focus on children who may be at risk of not achieving a good level of development.
- Promote inclusive practice and ensure all children have access to high-quality early education.
- Monitor, evaluate and support settings to improve outcomes through observation, professional discussions and development planning.
- Build strong partnerships with schools, Multi Academy Trusts, early years providers and other stakeholders to support effective transitions and improve outcome outcomes for children by the end of the Reception year.
You'll also be focused on improving outcomes for children through:
- Working collaboratively with schools, Family Hubs and early years settings.
- Supporting practitioners to develop effective teaching and learning approaches, focusing on the Reception year.
- Leading targeted development activities for settings to improve outcomes for children by the end of the Reception year.
- Promote consistent and accurate assessment practice to support effective transition and reliable end-of-Reception assessment through the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile.
The Ideal Candidate
The minimum criteria that will be used to shortlist for this role will be:
- A Level 6 qualification (or equivalent) in Early Years, Education, SEND or a related field, together with Qualified Teacher Status.
- Comprehensive knowledge and experience of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile as a statutory assessment tool.
- The ability to analyse Early Years Foundation Stage Profile data, identify priorities and drive continuous improvement.
- Significant experience of working with schools and educational leaders to improve outcomes across the Early Years Foundation Stage.
- Experience of leading teams, projects or workstreams that deliver sustained improvement for children and families.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
For any further enquiries about the role, please contact the Head of Early Years – Helen Gibson (Helen.Gibson@staffordshire.gov.uk) or Sarah McDowell – Early Years Improvement and Inclusion Lead - sarah.mcdowell1@staffordshire.gov.uk
Interviews will be held on Friday, October 16th 2026.
Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role.
Please note: The minimum criteria in the ideal candidate section detailed above will be used if you are applying under one of our Interview Guarantee Schemes detailed below.
About Staffordshire County Council
We are no ordinary county council:
Our Values:
The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.
Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:
We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people.
We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future. We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.
Our benefits:
We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire
Our recruitment process:
As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities
As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
Attached documents
