Senior Early Years Practitioner

Spring Nurseries by Action for Children; Witham; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 31,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days + bank holidays

Staff discounts portal

Blue light card benefits

Salary Finance

Childcare discount 60%

Dependency Leave (up to 3 days)

Maternity/Adoption/Paternity leave

Professional training & development

Pension with employer contributions

Job summary

Spring Nurseries by Action for Children is seeking a qualified Early Years Practitioner to lead a room as Room Lead. You will plan and deliver high-quality learning experiences, guiding your team to ensure excellent care for children aged 0-5 and strong family partnership.

You will work within the EYFS framework, using observations to inform next steps and promote an inclusive, nurturing environment. This permanent role offers development opportunities and a comprehensive benefits package.

Qualifications

• Qualified Level 3 Early Years practitioner.
• Knowledge and understanding of children’s development 0–5 years.
• Experience planning and delivering engaging, age-appropriate activities.
• Understanding of the EYFS and how to support learning and development.
• Awareness of SEND and inclusive practice in early years settings.

Responsibilities

• Lead the planning and delivery of high-quality learning experiences tailored to each child.
• Create a positive, inclusive culture within the room and lead the team to maintain high standards.
• Use observations and assessments to track progress and plan next steps for development.
• Lead, motivate and develop your room team to sustain exceptional care and education.

Skills

Team leadership

Observation & assessment

Inclusive practice

Education

Level 3 Early Years & Childcare

Equivalent qualification (NNEB/CACHE/NVQ 2/3)

Job description

Early Years Practitioner (qualified) Room Lead
Salary: c.£28,000 per annum
Location:Witham, Essex
Contract/Hours: Permanent/Full Time – 40 hours per week

Benefits:

• Time off to recharge– 25 days per annum plus bank holidays
• Treat yourself: Staff discounts portal and blue light card with 15,000 + retailers.
• Salary Finance – access tofinancial 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.

A bit abouttherole

As a Senior Early Years Practitioner / Room Lead, you'll take day-to-day responsibility for your room, helping to ensure everything runs smoothly and children receive high-quality care and learning experiences. You'll lead by example, guide your team to maintain high standards across the room.

What you do could make a difference

Your experience, ideas and enthusiasm will help shape an environment where children feel confident, curious, and ready to learn. You’ll plan engaging experiences, build strong relationships with families, and help every child reach their full potential.

• Lead the planning and delivery of high-quality learning experiences, using your knowledge of each child to support their development and individual needs.
• Create a positive, inclusive culture within your room, building trusting relationships with children, families, and colleagues.
• Use observations, assessment, and your knowledge of early years practice to identify progress, respond to children's needs and inform next steps.
• Lead motivate and develop your room team, promoting strong practice, consistency and higher standards of care and education.

Let’stalk about you

You’ll Be a qualified Level 3 early years practitioner who is passionate about helping young children to learn, develop and feel confident. You'll understand the needs of children aged 0-5, be confident working within the EYFS, and bring a caring inclusive approach to supporting every child.

• A Level 3 Early Years and Childcare qualification (NNEB, CACHE, NVQ Level 2 or 3 or equivalent)
• Knowledge and understanding of children's development from 0-5 years and how this informs your practice.
• Experience of planning and delivering engaging, age-appropriate activities that meet individual needs and developmental stages.
• An understanding of the EYFS and how to support children's learning and development through play.
• An awareness of SEND and how to provide inclusive support within an early year’s setting.

About Spring

Spring offers award-winning childcare services, as part of the national charity Action for Children. It's our mission to be the best provider of outstanding quality early education to children throughout the UK, that is accessible to all. We are focused on enabling young people to learn, have fun and make friends in our bright, engaging settings. That starts with creating a happy environment for our team. Join us and you can look forward to:

• A kind, caring culture with an emphasis on wellbeing, both physical and mental.
• Flexible working – wherever possible we offer flexibility on hours and/or hybrid working.
• Lots of opportunities for training, learning, development, including gaining qualifications.
• Excellent benefits that compare favourably to other employers in our sector.

About the Service

Spring Harlequin, Is a 37 place nursery providing care and early years learning for children from birth to five years. With full day sessions and wrap around care, including breakfast and after school provision, it's a great setting for an experienced early years professional looking to lead a room, inspire their team and make a real difference to children and families.

Our Commitment to Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism

At Spring Nurseries, we are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels respected, valued, and able to thrive. We know that racism and discrimination create barriers, and we are taking active steps to challenge these inequalities in our organisation and in the communities we serve.

We strongly welcome applications from people who are Black, Asian, or from other racialised and ethnically marginalised communities, as well as disabled people, who are currently under-represented in our workforce. We are committed to removing barriers in our recruitment processes and ensuring fair access to opportunities.

We also encourage applications from men, who are under-represented in our Children’s Services roles. We recognise that people hold multiple identities, and we value the richness this brings to our team.

Whether this is a career change for you or the next step in your journey, we'd love to hear from you.

We work together to reach our mission to give children a healthy start in life.

Good luck! We can't wait to hear from you.

Job Description

Want to know more about Spring and Oscars?

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See below for further information about working with us:

Employee Reward Booklet

Spring Early Years Career Pathway