Senior Early Years Practitioner

Location: Rowlands Gill, Gateshead

Salary: £27,300 per annum

Contract/Hours: Permanent/Full Time – 40 hours per week.

Closing date: Midnight on the 29th of June 2026

Benefits:

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Professional qualifications and excellent training
• Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages
• Up to 5% employer contribution and life assurance cover
• Blue Light Card eligibility with discounts at 15,000 national retailers

About the role:

As a Senior Early Years Practitioner, you’ll play a key role in the nursery’s daily routine, leading your room to deliver high quality early years education and care for all children. You’ll plan, implement and review engaging activities that promote learning and development in line with the EYFS, ensuring every child thrives in a safe, stimulating, and inclusive environment. In this role, you will support and guide other practitioners, model best practice, and help maintain strong, positive partnerships with parents and carers. You'll be responsible for completing accurate and up-to-date observations, assessments, and records.

About the nursery:

Located in Rowlands Gill, Spring Highfield offers high quality childcare within a warm, calm and stimulating environment for children aged 3 months to five years. A vibrant setting, with a team who are passionate about nurturing curiosity, confidence, and creativity through play-based learning. As a Senior Practitioner, you’ll join our dynamic team, working together to support each child’s learning to ensure each day is fun and engaging.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading the staff within the room on providing learning programmes for individual or groups of children appropriate to their needs and developmental stages in accordance with Early Years legislation and guidance.
• Supporting children with emerging or established special educational needs, working closely with families, staff, external agencies, and professionals to ensure each child's needs are understood and met.
• Ensuring the compliance and application of nursery policies and procedures and relevant legislative requirements, informing management immediately of any instances of non-compliance or variations in practices.
• Contributing to and participating in the wider nursery management through leading on specific areas of development within the nursery, as directed by the Nursery Manager.
• Preparing and supervising dedicated areas/rooms within the setting on specific working patterns through planning, monitoring of outcomes, managing ratio of children, and the provision of a stimulating and appropriate range of activities whilst ensuring health and care needs are met.

What we need from you:

• Level 3 early years and childcare qualification e.g., NNEB, CACHE, NVQ Level 3 in Childcare and Education.
• A thorough knowledge of children's developmental needs from 0 to 5 years.
• Experience working and leading in an early year setting.
• Strong planning, observation, and reflection of children and their learning.
• Effective communication skills across multiple age groups.
• Paediatric First Aid qualification.

Please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion:

At Spring Oscars we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian, and all applicants are expected to have an understanding of and commitment to safeguarding best practice.