Childcare Jobs
Childcare Jobs at Seymour House
If you are keen to begin a career in early years, or are looking to take your next step, a childcare job at a Seymour House nursery will give you the opportunity to achieve your goals as part of a fun and caring team.
When looking for a childcare job in Essex or Hertfordshire, Seymour House nurseries are the perfect place to pursue your career. You will become part of a brilliant team that gives nothing but the best, making every one of our eleven nurseries outstanding. Children are at the heart of everything we do and we live our values every day. These are collectively known as the 3Bs:
- Beyond Brilliant – Our families get nothing but the best from us.
- Better Together – We are united in supporting families to thrive.
- Be Kind – We nurture children, each other and our planet.
A childcare job at Seymour House is an opportunity to give children the best possible start with outstanding early years education in a safe, nurturing environment. We offer both our children and our team a future filled with possibilities.
Fun and fulfilling childcare jobs for early years careers
There are lots of different job roles at our nurseries. Some are entry-level positions, whilst others require qualifications and/or early years experience. Here’s a brief overview of each of our childcare jobs.
Nursery Manager
The Nursery Manager has a leadership role and works closely with the Head of Early Years Practice to manage the day-to-day running of the nursery. Amongst many other responsibilities, the role involves ensuring the nursery always meets our expectations for exceptional care, education and safety. This extends beyond caring for the children to include their families and our team.
To be a Nursery Manager you must have an Early Years qualification to Level 3 or above and a minimum of two years’ experience, post qualification, in an early years setting.
Head of Early Years Practice
Our other leadership position is The Head of Early Years Practice. This involves working alongside the Nursery Manager to ensure the nursery is successfully managed and always achieves its status as an outstanding setting. The Head of Early Years Practice leads on our care and education provision, ensuring each child is provided with the opportunities to meet their full potential.
The Head of Early Years job requires an Early Years qualification to Level 6 or above. You must also have at least two years’ experience leading a team in an early years setting.
Early Years Educator
Our Early Years Educators provide outstanding care and education, inspiring our children with awe and wonder every day. This childcare job involves meeting the individual needs of each child. You will provide them with the knowledge and resources to learn and interact with others across a broad range of subject areas, preparing the children for moving on to primary school.
For an Early Years Educator job you need to have at least a Level 3 qualification in Childcare and Education.
Apprentice Early Years Educator
This is an excellent opportunity to start your childcare career whilst working. Not just a nursery assistant, our Apprentice Early Years Educators are part of the nursery team, providing outstanding care and innovative education to the children. Our Seymour House Apprentice Academy provides the supervision and training required for apprentices to achieve an early years qualification.
To become an Apprentice Early Years Educator you need at least a Grade 4 GCSE (or equivalent) in English and Maths. Apprenticeship funding requires that you are also a UK or EEA citizen, or have lived in the UK for the past 3 years.
Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT)
The Early Years Initial Teaching Training role is an opportunity to work full-time as an Early Years Educator, whilst gaining a post-graduate early years teaching qualification. Early Years Educators studying the EYITT through our programme work as part of our nursery team, caring for the children and following our exciting educational curriculum. In addition, you will attend training days and have a designated mentor to assist you as you progress through the course.
The Early Years Initial Teacher Training job requires you to have an early years related degree.
Nursery Food Champion
Healthy eating and providing nutritious food is an important aspect of what we provide for the children in our nurseries. Our Nursery Food Champion is a key member of the Seymour House team, taking children on exciting taste adventures whilst nurturing their knowledge and understanding of good nutrition and responsibly sourced food.
As part of the childcare team, the Nursery Food Champion role requires you to have a passion for healthy food and good nutrition, as well as a desire to encourage the same enthusiasm in young children.
Nursery Housekeeper
By ensuring the nursery is kept clean and tidy, our Housekeepers maintain a safe and pleasant environment for the children and the team.
Nursery Housekeeper jobs don’t require any qualifications, but you must want to work in an environment with young children. Having prior housekeeping experience is also a bonus.
Find your dream early years job now
of Seymour House nursery staff enjoy their job
say working for us makes them feel part of something meaningful
say they have opportunities to learn and develop in their role at Seymoue House
All the benefits
Pursuing your childcare career at a Seymour House nursery has so many benefits. You’ll be part of an amazing team providing beyond brilliant care, education and support to our children and their families.
Nourish your lifestyle
- Competitive salaries
- Discounted gym membership
- Childcare discount
- 28 days holiday, increasing to 31 days
- Recommend a Friend bonus
- Cycle2Work scheme
Make your future bright
- Excellent career progression
- Teacher Training opportunities – fully funded
- Leadership investment training
- Funded training courses available in specialist EY subjects
- Skills development – volunteering with our local charity partner
Nurture your wellbeing
- Free life coaching in our Dream Academy
- Financial wellbeing service
- Glamourous annual awards evening
- Social events throughout the year
A brilliant team you just want to be part of
Strive and accomplish
We’re on a mission to make a real difference to families and create a brighter world for children. Our team values guide our decisions, focus our actions and remind us of what is important about working for Seymour House.
Relish in fun
We love to unwind and have fun at Seymour House! From our glamourous ‘We Are One Awards’ to our sensational ‘We Are One Festival’ and all the way to our exhilarating fancy dress bowling competition; we know how to have a good time!
Giving back
We are dedicated to supporting Home-Start Essex – an amazing charity who help to give children the best possible start in life. Our team love to get involved with fundraising initiatives and rewarding volunteering opportunities.
Take a peek at the wonderful things we do in our nurseries
Early Years Apprenticeships FAQs
What qualifications do I need for a job in a nursery?
For our Early Years Educator roles, you will need a minimum of a Level 3 qualification in Early Years.
If you do not have a Level 3 qualification, our Early Years Apprenticeship programme -(link to apprenticeship page) provides in-house, on the job training where you’ll also earn a competitive salary.
Nursery Food Champion roles do not require any formal qualifications or experience, but you will need a passion for food, nutrition, child development, and working in an environment with young children.
To become a Lunch Assistant or part of our Relief Team you will need to be a natural nurturer, who brings joy and enthusiasm to the nursery day. These roles do not require any formal qualifications.
What if I qualified outside of the UK?
If you gained your childcare qualification in a country other than the UK, then you will need to provide evidence that your qualification is full and relevant. Qualifications gained outside the UK can be verified via the UKNENIC website.
What happens after I have submitted my application?
Once applications have been shortlisted, our team will contact you via phone to discuss our opportunities in more detail. If you are successful, we’ll invite you to attend a video call/interview.
What will happen at the interview?
During your video call/interview, we will discuss your background and the role in more detail and ask you to answer some competency-based questions.
If you are successful you will be invited to a final face-to-face interview with the nursery management team at the nursery setting. You will have the opportunity to take a tour of the nursery, talk to our brilliant team and spend a little time observing what we get up to. You may even get to be involved in an activity with the children for a short period. This will give you an insight into our values and practice, and a chance to decide whether the position is right for you.
How should I prepare for the interview?
The interview process is your opportunity to demonstrate your passion for Early Years Education, along with your skills and expertise. It is also your chance to see whether Seymour House is the right choice for you. Before the interview, have a read through the Interview Pack, which will be emailed to you, and think of how you can demonstrate your skills and enthusiasm. Ideally this will be by using examples from previous work, or placement experiences.
Our nursery managers will tell you all about what it is like to work for Seymour House, and the benefits you can expect. It is useful to think of any questions you may have before the interview.
Prepare your journey to the interview in advance – do you know exactly where the nursery is located, how long it takes to get there and where you will park?
Also remember to dress smartly and appropriately for working in an early years setting.
What should I bring with me to the interview?
You should bring evidence of your right to work in the UK. Ideally this will be your passport, however if you do not have one then you can provide a full birth certificate along with a document containing your National Insurance number. A full list of acceptable documents can be found here.
You should also bring with you your certificates for any qualifications that are required for the role.
Are there any checks I need to go through before being employed?
If you are successful at the final stage interview, you will be contacted and offered a conditional offer of employment at our nursery. This offer is on the condition of us receiving two satisfactory references (one of which must be your current or most recent employer), an enhanced DBS disclosure, proof of your qualifications and evidence of your right to work in the UK.
What will your induction into the role look like?
To ensure all our new joiners feel happy and settled as quickly as possible, everyone has a thorough induction plan. This is led by the nursery management team and your very own mentor. Your mentor will look after you from day one, answer all those first few week questions, and make you feel part of our brilliant team as quickly as possible.
However, our induction starts even before day one. We will keep in contact with you to discuss your first day, this could be a visit into the nursery or a phone call. We’ll cover things like dress code, when to collect your uniform and where to park, all the things that will make day one feel a little bit less dauting – we understand that starting a new job can be nerve wracking.
Your first day doesn’t need to feel like that though, as we’ll look after you! You’ll be welcomed by our management team who will give you a tour of the nursery, introduce you to your colleagues and tell you everything you need to know. From where to hang your coat, where to store your lunch and how to log into our Community Pages, which are full of loads more information about Seymour House.
During your first week there will be some induction training to complete to ensure you are fully up to date with our important policies and procedures around safeguarding, health and safety and working with our children and families. You will have plenty of time to complete this training, which is mainly online.
Your mentor will work alongside you, guide you through your first few weeks and months, introduce you to the children and parents, and be on hand to ask any questions, however small or big!
Begin your Early Years Career today
Living our values, every day
Children are at the heart of everything we do. The Seymour House team values are written by our team for our team and remind us of what is important about working here. We live our values every day.
Say hello to our 3 Bs…
Beyond Brilliant
Our families get nothing but the best from us.
Better Together
We are united in supporting families to thrive.
Be Kind
Our families get nothing but the best from us.
