EYFS Class Teacher

Hatfeild Primary School; Greater London; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Hatfeild Primary School in Merton is seeking an enthusiastic EYFS Class Teacher (Reception or Nursery) on a fixed-term contract until 31 August 2027. You will create a safe, ambitious and nurturing environment where every child belongs and makes strong progress.

You will plan an ambitious EYFS curriculum, deliver Read Write Inc. phonics with fidelity, support communication and early writing, and work with ARP, SENCO and families to provide inclusive provision.

Qualifications

• Must demonstrate understanding of the EYFS framework and inclusive practice.
• Experience or willingness to deliver systematic synthetic phonics (Read Write Inc.).
• Able to work with ARP, SENCO and families to provide support for diverse learners.

Responsibilities

• Plan and deliver an ambitious EYFS curriculum balancing play, guided learning and direct teaching.
• Deliver high-quality early reading and phonics with fidelity and support language development.
• Use observation and assessment to identify next steps and adapt teaching for all learners.
• Collaborate with the Early Years Lead, ARP team and families to provide inclusive provision.
• Support transitions between Nursery, Reception and Year 1 and participate in school improvement work.

Skills

EYFS

Read Write Inc.

Phonics

Inclusion

SEND

Job description

Hatfeild Primary School — Merton | M1 (Fixed-term until 31 August 2027), to start January 2027 or sooner depending on availability.

Are you an enthusiastic, nurturing early years teacher who believes every child deserves to flourish?

Join Hatfeild Primary School, a warm, inclusive community where inclusion is everything and every child is supported to achieve their full potential. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a measurable difference in the earliest stages of children’s learning, working alongside a skilled team and our ARP for children with ASD.

About Hatfeild Primary School

Hatfeild is a maintained primary school in the London Borough of Merton and is part of the Cherrywood Federation, a partnership with Joseph Hood Primary School. We have a strong, child-centred vision: A Place to Grow. We put inclusion at the heart of everything we do and celebrate the uniqueness of every child. Our school community is guided by our FLOURISH vision and STRIVE values — promoting positive relationships, independence, high expectations and a love of learning. We have an ARP for children with a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder, and every teacher at Hatfeild is a teacher of SEND.

Our current school improvement priorities:

• Strengthening inclusive practice and graduated support across the school, led by the Inclusion Lead.
• Ensuring consistent, high-quality teaching of phonics and early reading (Read Write Inc.) across EYFS and KS1.
• Raising expectations and outcomes in early writing through targeted pedagogy and curriculum sequencing (including Drawing Club approaches).
• Embedding a coherent maths progression from Reception to Year 6 with a focus on conceptual understanding and problem solving.
• Developing high-quality continuous provision and purposeful outdoor learning to support language, independence and early assessment.

About the role:

We are looking for an EYFS Class Teacher (Reception or Nursery) on a fixed-term contract until 31 August 2027 who will create a safe, ambitious and nurturing environment where every child belongs and makes strong progress.

Key responsibilities include:

• Planning and delivering an ambitious EYFS curriculum that balances purposeful play, adult-guided learning and direct teaching, indoors and outdoors.
• Delivering high-quality early reading and phonics (Read Write Inc.) with fidelity, and developing children’s communication, language, early writing and maths.
• Using observation and proportionate assessment to identify next steps and adapt teaching for all learners.
• Working closely with the Early Years Lead, SENCO, ARP team, teaching assistants and families to implement ordinarily available provision and individual support.
• Contributing to smooth transitions between Nursery, Reception and Year 1, and participating in moderation and school improvement work.

This role reports to the Executive Head and Head of School and will involve close collaboration across the EYFS team and wider school staff.

About you — the ideal candidate

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Passionate about early childhood education and committed to inclusion for all children.
• Confident in the statutory EYFS framework, play-based pedagogy and continuous provision.
• Knowledgeable about Drawing Club and how it is used in EYFS to encourage a love of writing and promote high standards.
• Experienced or keen to deliver systematic synthetic phonics (Read Write Inc.) and early reading development.
• Skilled in high-quality adult–child interaction: modelling language, questioning, scaffolding and explicitly teaching routines and independence.
• Able to adapt teaching and use assessment to secure strong progress for diverse learners, including those with SEND and children in the ARP.
• A collaborative team-player who can lead classroom adults effectively and build trusting relationships with families and external professionals.
• Warm, reflective, organised and ambitious for every child’s development, with a sense of fun.

Recent EYFS-specific CPD, experience with outdoor provision and familiarity with Special Educational Provision are desirable but not essential — we welcome enthusiastic candidates, ECT1s and ECT2s.