Lunchtime Assistant

Willow Cottage Nursery Schools; Oxford; Hybrid; GBP 18,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

Willow Cottage Nurseries is seeking a dedicated Lunchtime Assistant to support children during meal times across our sites in Oxford. You will contribute to a calm, positive dining experience and help with meal service, cleaning, and preparing the rooms for afternoon activities.

The role emphasizes reliability, a caring attitude, and the ability to work well with educators and children within a safe, welcoming nursery environment.

Responsibilities

• Lunchtime engagement: assist children in their meals with a warm, caring presence.
• Nutritional support: help serve healthy, home-cooked meals and keep dining areas calm.
• Team collaboration: cover colleagues during lunch breaks to maintain supervision.
• Flexible support: possible additional ratio cover before/after lunch when needed.
• Dining environment: tidy and prepare rooms after meals for activities.

Job description

Step into a rewarding role at Willow Cottage Nurseries, where our support staff are essential to the daily magic of early years care. We are always looking to connect with dedicated Lunchtime Assistants who take pride in making mealtimes a positive, calm, and happy experience for our children. We believe in nurturing and valuing our team just as much as the children in our care. If you want a meaningful role where your contribution truly matters, we’d love to start a conversation today.

With a thriving team across our three unique sites, new opportunities to join the Willow Cottage family arise regularly. If you are a reliable, detail-oriented professional ready to maintain our flagship standards of hygiene while supporting our children and educators during the busy lunchtime period, we would like to hear from you.

The Role

• Lunchtime Engagement: Stepping into the rooms to support children as they eat, encouraging healthy habits and providing a warm, caring presence during their mealtime experience.
• Nutritional Support: Assisting with the smooth service of healthy, home-cooked meals and ensuring the dining environment is ready for a happy and calm lunchtime.
• Team Collaboration: Providing vital cover for early years colleagues during their lunch breaks, ensuring the seamless care and supervision of the children continues uninterrupted.
• Flexible Support: While focused on mealtimes, an ideal candidate might also have occasional availability to provide additional ratio cover in the rooms either before or after lunch when requested.
• Dining Environment: Helping to clear and tidy the rooms post-meal, ensuring the spaces are clean, organised, and ready for the afternoon’s activities.
• Community Care: Acting as a friendly and professional face within the nursery, supporting the wider team in creating a welcoming and supportive environment for the children.

Willow Cottage Nurseries are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

All applicants need to go through our thorough Safer Recruitment process.

We are committed to being an equal opportunities employer.

Experience the warmth of a family-run nursery. Read What the staff say about their journey at Willow Cottage.