Working for Us

Early Years Childcare employs over 300 staff and we are always keen to hear from enthusiastic and committed individuals who would like to build a career working with pre-school children.
We believe that it is our employees who make a difference and it is our aim to provide all staff with a wide range of rewards and benefits.

We offer:

• Competitive salaries
• A minimum of 20 days paid holiday per annum plus Bank Holidays
• Paid sickness and dependency leave
• Company pension scheme
• Life assurance
• Long service awards (additional annual leave)
• Extensive in-house training facilities and support
• Excellent opportunities for internal promotion and career development
• Childcare vouchers and workplace nursery schemes
• Support from Head Office departments; HR, Training, Finance and IT
• Friendly working environment
• Clearly defined working practices
• High quality facilities and equipment
• Regular meetings to review personal development and objectives
• Staff room facilities
• Staff uniform (tops)

If you would like to apply for a position at Early Years Childcare please click here to request an application form alternatively you can call 01273 778775 and ask for an application form to be sent to you.
To learn more about working for us please contact your local nursery and ask to speak to the Nursery Manager.

The Early Years Childcare Team

The following are general descriptions of Nursery positions at Early Years Childcare. We take great care in our selection process to ensure we are recruiting the right people. Police and referencing checks are carried out on all employees.

Nursery Manager
Ensures the smooth running of the Nursery in accordance with Company policy and OFSTED regulations. Motivates staff with a shared sense of pride and energy. Promotes the Nursery as a business and builds parent relationships, dealing with any issues as they arise. Must possess a minimum of 3-5 years post qualification childcare and supervisory experience. This is a supernumerary role.

Deputy Manager
Works in partnership with the Nursery Manager to ensure the smooth running of the Nursery in accordance with company policy and OFSTED regulations. Must possess a minimum of 2-3 years post qualification experience. Depending on the size of the Nursery this may be a supernumerary role.

Senior Practitioner
Manages the responsibilities of running a room in conjunction with overseeing staff development, coaching and supervision for the whole team. Must possess a minimum of 2-3 years post qualification experience. Senior Practitioners receive training and development to provide them with the skills to become future managers.

Team Leader
A qualified childcare professional who is responsible for the day-to-day running of an allocated room. They perform an important role in training and developing staff, imparting their knowledge and skills to other team members. One-year post qualification experience is desirable.

Early Years Practitioner
A qualified childcare professional who is responsible for providing high quality care and ensures the safety and well being of all children. They are involved with the organisation of children’s daily activities. Must possess NVQ Level 3 or equivalent qualification.

NVQ Early Years Practitioner
Early Years Practitioners are responsible for providing high quality care and ensuring the safety and well being of all the children. Staff at more senior levels act as mentors to help NVQ Early Years Practitioners grow and develop in their role. Must have an interest in working towards a childcare qualification. Previous experience of a similar environment is desirable.

Lunchtime Support
Childcare professionals working part time over lunchtime to assist with the caring of the children during this busy time. Previous experience in a similar environment is desirable.

Bank Early Years Practitioner
A position that assists the Nursery to cover staff holidays and other absence, ensuring that ratios and high standards are maintained. Previous experience in a similar environment is desirable.

Nursery Chef
An experienced professional who is responsible for the preparation of nutritional meals and snacks for the children and meeting their individual dietary requirements. Ensures that the kitchen is maintained to a high standard in line with food and hygiene regulations. A recognised catering qualification is required.

Housekeeper / Domestic Assistant
Responsible for general cleaning, laundry, assisting the Chef and any other domestic duties that are required.

Investors in People

Early Years Childcare is an Investors in People accredited employer and has built an enviable reputation for investment in staff. We are committed to providing ongoing development opportunities for our employees and this is facilitated by the exceptional facilities provided by our internal training team and NVQ Centre. In recognition of the high quality service they provide our Quality and Development team were recently shortlisted from thousands of entrants for the national ‘Nursery Management Today Training and Development Award 2004’.

Training
All Nursery employees receive thorough training on commencing their employment covering subjects such as Health & Safety, security and Policies & Procedures. We also invite all new employees to a two-day induction that is held at Head Office and is a great opportunity to meet fellow colleagues from across the business. All staff receive First Aid training as part of the induction process.

Early Years Childcare undertakes to encourage all employees to take advantage of relevant training opportunities and ensure that all training is delivered in a manner that takes into account different learning styles and needs. Our in-house training and NVQ centre offer extensive training courses on a wide range of subjects in order to meet the requirements of our employees.

NVQ qualifications
We offer NVQ Training as part of a modern apprenticeship while you work with us. You can study towards a Level 2 apprenticeship in Childcare or advanced apprenticeship Level 3 in Childcare. We advertise our NVQ recruitment days in local newspapers on a regular basis. Early Years Childcare is a CACHE registered NVQ assessment centre accredited to provide NVQ qualifications and has many qualified and experienced Assessors to guide and support progression. The results of our NVQ Centre are demonstrated in the achievement of one of our Learners from Lewes Nursery who was awarded ‘Student/Trainee of the Year 2004’ in the national ‘Nursery Management Today Awards’.

“I’ve really enjoyed learning in this way – it’s very effective as you learn by doing and you get paid for it! All the materials Early Years Childcare provides are user friendly, the assessors are extremely supportive and the nursery that I work in is wonderful – it all makes gaining the qualification a much easier task”
Tracey NVQ candidate

Building a Career with Early Years Childcare

We offer all employees the opportunity to follow our structured career path by providing the appropriate training and development at every stage. We encourage you to embrace your own personal development by providing you with the support, supervision and mentoring to achieve your own goals.

“I started in 1993 as an Early Years Practitioner and progressed to Nursery Manager in 2003 following the birth of my first child. I found the Company very flexible and supportive at every step.”
Suzie, Nursery Manager

Equal Opportunities

Early Years Childcare is committed to ensuring that all employees, potential employees, clients and service users receive fair and equal treatment.

• It is our aim to make every employee aware of their responsibility to:
• Treat people fairly and without prejudice
• Value and respect others
• Ensure that no-one is harassed, victimised or bullied in the workplace, or training session
• Promote a work and learning environment where everyone feels confident to report incidents that are unfair or personally offensive
• Seek to develop their own skills and encourage others

All employees are made aware of our Equal Opportunities Policy and receive training, as necessary.