Nursery Assistant Jobs
Nursery Assistant Jobs at Seymour House
Do you have a passion for working with young children? Do you have a desire to inspire them and get them excited about learning? Do you want to work in an enriching environment where every day is filled with fun? Do you want to work alongside a team of supportive early years professionals?
If you answered ‘yes’ to all of the above, then a nursery assistant position at one of our nurseries could be the ideal job for you.
With eleven nurseries across Essex and Hertfordshire, Seymour House has some exciting nursery assistant job roles with opportunities to become an Early Years Apprentice or a Relief Team Member, working with children from birth to 5 years old.
Working for a Seymour House nursery means becoming part of a fun and caring team that gives nothing but the best in childcare and early years education. Children are at the heart of everything we do and by joining our brilliant team in a nursery assistant role, you will have the opportunity to give children the best possible start in a safe and nurturing environment.
See our latest nursery job vacancies
Start your early years career with a nursery assistant job
At Seymour House we don’t use the actual job title ‘nursery assistant’. Instead, we have Apprentice Early Years Educators and Relief Team Members who take on the responsibilities and perform the duties of this role. These are both entry-level positions, making them ideal for those with a passion to begin a career in childcare, but without prior experience or an early years qualification.
Apprentice Early Years Educator
An Apprentice Early Years Educator is a valued member of our team, assisting the nursery staff in the day to day care and education of the children. Our Apprenticeship Programme has been created by our early years experts to ensure you have an amazing learning experience as you work towards your Level 3 Early Years qualification.
Alongside your training, you will also be working full time. As part of your job, you will help in preparing and supervising a wide range of fun and educational activities as well as performing basic childcare duties.
Learn more about childcare apprenticeship opportunities
Relief Team Member
Our Relief Team Members assist in the nursery by providing extra childcare support to our nursery team when and where needed. A Relief Team Member will have a home nursery, however thenyneed to be flexible as they may sometimes find themselves working in different locations across our eleven nurseries. At the same time, a relief team job offers flexibility to choose hours to work around other commitments.
If you are interested in becoming a Relief Team Member, search our current job vacancies.
What are the benefits of a nursery assistant job role at Seymour House?
Becoming an Early Years Apprentice or joining the Relief Team at one of our nurseries has many benefits for you and your future.
Nourishing your lifestyle
- Competitive salaries
- Discounted gym membership
- Paid holiday
- ‘Recommend a Friend’ bonus
- Cycle2Work scheme
Making your future bright
- Excellent career progression
- Funded training courses available in specialist early years subjects
Nurturing your wellbeing
- Free life coaching in our Dream Academy
- Financial wellbeing service
- Eyecare vouchers
- Glamourous annual awards evening
- Social events throughout the year
Early Years Apprentices and Relief Team members are an essential part of our team at Seymour House. We are always looking for dedicated individuals eager to offer their nurturing skills to provide childcare and education in an early years setting.
Find out more about starting your early years careers at Seymour House nurseries.
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.
