Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: Soulbury ADV/GA £54,398 - £58,691 (This is FTE salary and will be pro rata for part time)

Contract Type: Part-time/Permanent

Working hours per week: 28.8

Weeks per year: 52

Application Deadline: 10/07/2026

Proposed Interview Date(s): TBC

Reference: 2185

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

About the role:

To lead a high-quality, inclusive HLE offer: Drive and coordinate a consistent, evidence-based home learning environment (HLE) offer for children aged 0–5, improving early development and school readiness outcomes across the local authority.

To embed partnership and system-wide delivery: Work collaboratively across family hubs, early years settings, health services and VCF partners to ensure accessible, joined-up support for families, particularly those most in need.

To champion evidence-based practice and impact: Ensure the implementation of evidence-based, outcome-focused approaches that strengthen early language, learning, and development, with a clear focus on measurable improvement.

To ensure quality, consistency and value for money: Maintain robust oversight of delivery to ensure high-quality provision, continuous improvement, and effective use of resources that demonstrate value for money.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Key Responsibilities:

Experience working directly with children under 5
Experience leading delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
Proven ability to provide professional advice and support on EYFS
Strong track record of building effective stakeholder relationships
Experience working at a senior level and across organisational boundaries
Ability to influence senior leaders, partners, and the public
Experience working with family hubs or early help systems
Knowledge of Best Start and Home Learning Environment (HLE) guidance
Experience supporting vulnerable families and SEND
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strong organisational skills with ability to manage competing priorities independently
Experience delivering training on EYFS and childcare regulatory requirements

Qualifications and Requirements:

Qualified Teacher Status
Educated to degree level or equivalent standard

Terms and conditions:

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
Satisfactory declaration of interest;
This role is subject to safer recruitment practices as it involves work with children and/ or vulnerable adults;
Satisfactory DBS check;
Continued professional body registration;
As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Elisha Wilkinson at elisha.wilkinson@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.

Fraud Awareness Notice:

The London Borough of Waltham Forest only advertises vacancies via our official website and approved recruitment platforms (e.g. Jobsgopublic).

We will never ask for payment or request sensitive personal or financial information as part of our recruitment process.

If you are contacted by a third party claiming to represent the Council, please verify the vacancy via our official careers website before sharing any information.

If you have concerns about a job advert or communication, please report it to:
fraud@walthamforest.gov.uk