Lunch Cover Assistant

Happy Days Nurseries Limited; Cirencester; On-site; GBP 17,000 - 25,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension & Life Assurance

Blue Light Card

Annual Leave 20 days + Bank Holidays

Gifted Christmas days off

Personal day

DBS Update Service

Digital GP 24/7

Counselling services

SPARK app wellbeing

Long Service recognition

Job summary

Happy Days Nurseries Limited in Cirencester is seeking a Lunch Cover Assistant to support children’s growth during lunchtimes. The role is 15 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 11am–2pm, across busy lunchtime periods.

You will help deliver our “Where Children Shine” curriculum, safeguard children, assist with meals, naps and learning activities, and work with staff to maintain a safe, inclusive environment throughout the day.

Qualifications

• Experience with child development and learning.
• Commitment to children’s emotional and intellectual growth.
• Confident, professional communication and collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Support lunch times and learning activities.
• Provide a safe, enriching environment during lunchtime.
• Assist with daily routines and sleep times as part of the staff.
• Safeguard children and follow policies, including dietary requirements.
• Help maintain a consistent, positive atmosphere across the day.

Skills

Child development

Communication

Teamwork

Inclusive practice

Professional growth

Job description

We’re looking for a Lunch Cover Assistant committed to supporting children’s growth and learning, to join our Edward Bears nursery in Cirencester!

Our Lunch Cover Assistant will work 15 hours per week, Monday to Friday (all year round) over our busy lunch time, between 11am to 2pm.

About the role:

As a Lunch Cover Assistant, you will:

• Play a vital role in helping us inspire the future for our children, offering the very best care and education using our unique curriculum “Where Children Shine”.
• Be responsible for providing a safe, supportive and enriching environment that fosters children’s development and well-being, particularly over the busy lunchtime period.
• Be an integral part of our children’s daily routines and you will support the staff team with lunch times, sleep times and supporting learning activities.
• Juggle many different tasks as part of the role, working closely with the staff team to ensure that our children’s day is kept consistent, through a confident, positive and honest approach.
• Support children during their mealtime and following all policies and procedures to keep our children safe and keep to all allergies and special dietary requirements
• Have a good understanding of how to best safeguard our children and families.

About you:

We're looking for Early Years Practitioners who:

• Have experience with child development and learning and are committed to children’s emotional and intellectual growth
• Communicate confidently, professionally and work collaboratively
• Work in a way that is inclusive and creates a supportive, respectful environment
• Are reflective and committed to professional growth
• Can easily commute to multiple nursery sites within a one-hour radius

And a few nice to haves:

• Paediatric First Aid certification.
• Experience supporting children with additional needs.
• Familiarity with digital learning journals or nursery software.

Rewarding careers:

We’re committed to nurturing talent and supporting career progression into nursery management roles. Through tailored development plans, mentoring from experienced leaders, and access to accredited training programmes, we empower our team members to grow their leadership skills and take the next step in their careers.

We welcome applicants from under-represented groups including men and offer a competitive range of benefits that aren’t just perks—they are part of a culture that puts people first. They support us build a workplace where you’re empowered to thrive every day and where you’ll feel valued.

We'rebuilding a workplace where our colleagues thrive

We offer a range of meaningful benefits designed to support your wellbeing, professional growth, and work-life balance. Our benefits aren’t just perks—they’re part of a culture that puts people first and we continue to build our range of benefits designed to support health, wellbeing and the odd treat here and there…these include:

• from £12.71 per hour, depending on qualification
• Pension & Life Assurance*
• Funded Blue Light Card Membership
• In addition to 20 days Annual Leave (plus Bank Holidays), up to an additional four gifted days off during Christmas closedown
• An additional day each year to celebrate something personal to you*
• Funded DBS Update Service
• Access to digital GP 24/7
• On demand counselling services
• Extensive Health and Wellbeing services through the SPARK APP
• Recognition and celebration for Long Service

*Subject to eligibility criteria

Safeguarding commitment:

Happy Days Nurseries are committed to the safety and wellbeing of the children in our care. All successful candidates will undergo the required vetting process.