Nursery Practitioner

EKC Group; Broadstairs; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 23,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

Learning and development opportunities

Exclusive discounts & perks

Flexible personal leave

Wellbeing and health support

Culture and recognition

Competitive pension scheme

Job summary

East Kent Colleges Group is seeking an experienced Level 3 Nursery Practitioner to join our Folkestone nursery team. The role supports the Nursery Manager and provides high-quality care and education to young children in a nurturing environment.

The position is fixed-term until the end of August 2026, offering excellent benefits, development opportunities, and a supportive work culture within EKC Group.

Qualifications

• Must hold Level 3 qualification in Early Years (EYFS knowledge).
• Experience working in a nursery environment.
• Able to communicate effectively with children, parents and colleagues.
• Committed to safeguarding and inclusive practice.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality care and early education to children.
• Act as key person to support individual children and families.
• Work in partnership with the Nursery Manager and team to maintain standards.

Skills

Level 3 practitioner

EYFS knowledge

Child development knowledge

Communication skills

Education

Early Years Level 3 qualification

Job description

About The Role

Little Steps, Big Impact - Join a Team where Your Work Shapes Young Lives

Here are just some of our benefits when working for the East Kent Colleges Group:

• Generous Annual Leave- 24 days (FTE) per annum +5 days after 5 years
• Learning and Development Opportunities:3-4 annual paid group development days, bespoke programmes e.g. Aspiring Leaders Development Programme and strong internal progression-1 in 3 roles are filled internally
• Exclusive Discounts & Perks- Inc. restaurant, grocery, retail and holidays discounts as well as car leasing and tech purchasing schemes
• Flexible Personal Leave- Time off for your child's first day at nursery or school, moving homes and for interviews
• Wellbeing and Health Support- Generous sick pay, counselling services, discounted gym membership at Canterbury College
• Culture and Recognition- Being part of Community Days, an annual Staff Celebration Day, and an eco-friendly organisation dedicated to reaching net-zero by 2030
• Competitive Pension Scheme- 18% employer contribution

Sound good? Well, here's more about the role and our setting.

The East Kent Colleges Group is home to three amazing nurseries serving students, staff, and the local community from our Broadstairs, Canterbury, and Folkestone College campuses, and thanks to our popularity, we're looking for a full-time Nursery Practitioner to complement our friendly Folkestone team. Could we be looking for you?

A great team spirit; and warm and nurturing surroundings for the children in our care are at the heart of who we are and what we do and thanks to our popularity we’re looking for an experienced Level 3 qualified Nursery Practitioner to support the Nursery Manager and work within our amazing team.

So, if you’re looking for somewhere to share your Early Years Level 3 knowledge and skills and make a difference in children's lives… looking for great benefits - good rates of pay and holiday, a reward system and promotion opportunities - and an even better team… and most of all, you’re committed to safeguarding, then you're looking for us too!

We are committed to development and we’d support development through to Level 3 for the right candidate.

Please note that this role is fixed-term until the end of August 2026.

About You

We are looking for hardworking, experienced Level 3 practitioners with the knowledge and skills to deliver high-quality care and education and make a difference in children's lives.

Youmust have understanding working within a nursery environment and a knowledge of the EYFS. The position will be required to take on a key person role in delivering high-quality early years education, working in partnership with parents/carers and implementing welfare requirements to the highest standards.

You will be able to demonstrate their ability to communicate effectively at all levels including professional, practitioner level and to engage with children, parents and families. The candidate will also need to be able to demonstrate a working knowledge of child development and children’s needs and knowledge of relevant health and safety and the proven ability to act upon this to ensure the environment is always safe.

You will understand policies and procedures in relation to equality and inclusive practice and be able to implement this in their work. The candidate will also be comfortable to take on other responsibilities as deemed necessary.

If you are interested in an informal chat about the role, or have any queries, please email us on [e-mail].

About Us

Outstanding Ofsted Provider

East Kent Colleges Group is an Ofsted Outstanding rated provider. It is proud to be the first General Further Education college organisation in the country to have received the Outstanding grade against each of the strands under the new Ofsted inspection framework. An inclusive provider, our colleagues place our students and the communities we serve at the heart of everything they do across EKC Group and this is illustrated in our ‘Strong’ skills grading by Ofsted.

Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and we ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities for upholding these principles.

As a designated establishment, we are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore have an obligation to carry out checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. These checks include conviction/caution self‑declaration, Enhanced DBS check and obtaining sufficient referencing.

It is a criminal offence to apply for a post which involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to children if you are barred from doing so.

If you are successful in being shortlisted to interview, your suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults will be explored as part of the interview process.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

East Kent CollegesGroup is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of our communities. We are particularly keen to increase the diversity of our staff body and encourage applications from candidates where there is underrepresentation in our workforce.

We are proud to hold the Positive About Disability Award and are a Disability Confident Employer. This confirms our commitment to interviewing all applicants who declare that they have a disability and who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. With any successful candidate, we will explore any reasonable adjustments to a role due to a health needs or disability.

Similarly, we have a commitment to Care Leavers (Care Covenant Pledge) and to current or previous Armed Forces personnel (Armed Forces Covenant Pledge) with a commitment to interview applicants who meet the positions essential criteria and who have declared this on their application.

We welcome applications from anyone wishing to work flexibly and those considering a return to work from a career break.

We do not engage with agencies for permanent staff and have an in-house recruitment team.