Senior Early Years Practitioner

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

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Staff discounts portal

Pension with employer contribution

Training & development

Childcare discount 60%

Job summary

Action for Children is seeking an experienced Early Years Practitioner (Level 3) to join as Room Lead in Witham, Essex. You will lead the room, guide the team, and ensure high-quality care and learning experiences for children aged 0-5.

You will plan engaging activities, build strong relationships with families, and support children's development while upholding EYFS principles. This permanent, full-time position runs 40 hours per week.

Qualifications

• Qualified Level 3 Early Years practitioner with knowledge of children development 0–5.
• Experience planning and delivering engaging, age-appropriate activities.
• Understanding of the EYFS framework and how to support learning through play.
• Awareness of SEND and inclusive practice in early years setting.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning and delivery of high-quality learning experiences for the room.
• Create a positive, inclusive culture with families and colleagues.
• Use observations to identify progress and inform next steps.
• Lead, motivate and develop the room team to maintain high standards.

Skills

Leadership

Planning & delivery

EYFS knowledge

Team management

Education

Level 3 Early Years & Childcare qualification (NNEB, CACHE, NVQ 2/3)

Job description

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

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