Early Years Practitioner Level 3

Spring Nurseries by Action for Children; Exeter; On-site; GBP 16,000 - 27,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave + bank holidays

Staff discounts portal & blue light 15

Salary Finance – financial advice & in

60% childcare discount

Up to 3 days dependency leave

Paid maternity, adoption, paternity: 0

Professional qualifications & training

Pension with up to 7% employer contrib

Job summary

Spring Nurseries by Action for Children in Exeter is seeking an Early Years Practitioner (Level 3 SENCO) to create a warm, inclusive environment where every child can learn and thrive. You’ll support children with SEND, maintain records, and collaborate with families and professionals to ensure right support.

This is a supernumerary role with room-based support as needed. Ideal candidates hold a Level 3 early years qualification (NNEB/CACHE/NVQ3 or equivalent) and SENDCO training or willingness

Qualifications

• Level 3 early years and childcare qualification (NNEB, CACHE, NVQ Level 3 or equivalent).
• Completed SENDCO training or willingness to undertake a Level 3 SENDCO qualification.
• Strong understanding of the EYFS and how children learn and develop through play.
• Aligned with our core values and Spring career pathway.
• Understanding of children’s development for ages 0–5 years.

Responsibilities

• Support children with SEND, ensuring individual needs are understood and met.
• Maintain accurate SEND paperwork, observations, records and individual support plans.
• Work closely with practitioners, providing guidance and support around inclusive practice.
• Build positive relationships with children, families and external professionals.
• Work alongside children and staff in the room when required, supporting high quality care, learning and play.

Education

Level 3 early years and childcare qualification (NNEB, CACHE, NVQ Level 3 or equivalent)

SENDCO training or willingness to undertake Level 3 SENDCO qualification

Understanding of EYFS and how children learn through play

Job description

Early Years Practitioner (Level 3 SENCO)

Location: Exeter

Salary: up to £27,299 per annum

Contract/Hours: Permanent / Full Time – 40 hours per

Closing date: Midnight on the 25th of August 2026

Benefits:

• Time off to recharge - 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Treat yourself: Staff discounts portal and blue light card with 15,000 + retailers
• Salary Finance – access to financial advice and the ability to manage savings or loans directly from your salary
• Childcare Discount – A whopping 60% off childcare within our nurseries and out of school clubs
• Up to 3 Days Dependency Leave – to care for dependents in an emergency.
• Paid maternity, adoption, and paternity leave
• Gain professional qualifications and excellent training/development opportunities
• Secure your future: Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover

Why Spring Nurseries

As Spring Nurseries, you're joining supportive, purpose-led team where every day helps shape children's futures while your own career is actively developed and progressed.

A bit about the role

As Early Years Level 3 and SENCO, you'll play an important role in creating a warm, inclusive and nurturing environment where every child can learn, develop and thrive. Working closely with children, families and the wider nursery team, you'll support children's individual needs and help ensure that they receive the right care, encouragement and opportunities to reach their full potential.

This is a supernumerary role, providing dedicated time to focus on your SENCO responsibilities. However, there is an expectation that you will work alongside the children and staff in the room when required, offering practical support, sharing expertise and helping to maintain high quality inclusive recruitment.

You'll support the team with SEND-related paperwork, observations, records and individual support plans, while working alongside practitioners to share your knowledge, guidance and best practice. You'll help staff feel confident supporting children with additional needs and work closely with families and other professionals to ensure children receive the right support.

Key Expectations:

• Support children with SEND, ensuring that individual needs are understood and met.
• Maintain accurate send paperwork, observations, records and individual support plans.
• Work closely with practitioners, providing guidance, advising and support around inclusive practice.
• Build positive relationships with children, families and external professionals.
• Work alongside children and staff in the room when required, supporting high quality care, learning and play.

What we need from you

In the role of Early Years Practitioner (Level 3), we\'re ideally looking for someone who has:

• A Level 3 early years and childcare qualification (NNEB, CACHE, NVQ Level 3 or equivalent)
• Ideally, you have completed SENDCO training or be willing to undertake a Level 3 SENDCO qualification.
• A strong understanding of the EYFS and how children learn and develop through play.
• A passion for continuous learning and growth, Aligned with our core values and the Spring career pathway
• An understanding of children\'s development needs (0 to 5 years)
• A positive attitude and a commitment to excellence

A Bit about The Nursery

Spring Cedars is a welcoming and supportive setting, where you’ll work alongside a dedicated team of professionals. Following a recent refurbishment, the nursery has a fresh, modern feel and a newly developed outdoor area, providing an inspiring environment for both children and staff to learn, develop and thrive.

Ready to make a difference in the lives of children? Whether you\'re looking for a career change or the next step in your journey, we\'d love to hear from you!

We\'d love to hear from you!

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion

At Spring Oscars we\'re dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within the organisation. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity for all groups.

Male staff are often under-represented within this sector, and we would like to encourage more male applicants for our roles.

We are committed to safer recruitment practices to protect our service users; therefore, all applicants are expected to have an understanding of and commitment to safeguarding best practice.

Talent Pool: We\'re sure you\'ve got what it takes to join our ambitious team. If you\'re unsuccessful this time around, we\'d like to hold your details in case similar jobs come up that you might be better suited for. But feel free to let us know if you\'d rather, we didn\'t do that.

Want to know more about Spring and Oscars?

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Job Description

See below for further information about working with us:

Employee Reward Booklet

Spring Early Years Career Pathway

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