Early Years Nursery Practitioner (Band 3)
At a glance
- Band
- Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Pattern
- Part-time
- Hours / week
- 26.5
- Posted
- 15/09/2026
- Closes
- 30/09/2026
Sponsorship verdict
This contract type is not eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship.
NHS Trusts cannot issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for part-time, bank, locum, zero-hours, job-share or short fixed-term (under 12 months) contracts under current Home Office rules. This applies even when the wider Trust holds a Skilled Worker licence.
Role summary
This role is for an enthusiastic and caring Early Years Nursery Practitioner to join a busy nursery team. The successful candidate will care for children aged 0-60 months, ensuring their physical, social, and psychological needs are met. The position requires a Level 3 qualification in Early Childhood Studies and a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery is rated 'Good' by Ofsted and is preparing for a new purpose-built facility.
Key responsibilities
- To care for children in accordance with their individual physical, social and psychological needs.
- To work within NHS, Early Years Foundation Stage and Ofsted's national, regional and local guidelines relating to Day Nursery Provision.
- To take every reasonable opportunity to maintain existing expertise and develop new skills as appropriate.
Essential criteria
- CACHE Level 3 Early Childhood Studies or equivalent
- Previous post qualifying experience of working with children 0 - 4 years in a day nursery setting.
- Good literacy and numeracy required.
- A high level of communication skills, an ability to work effectively with colleagues and parent/carers.
- Ability to deliver, non discriminatory, age appropriate learning experiences, meeting each child's individual needs
- An understanding of Ofsted requirements
- An excellent knowledge & understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Desirable criteria
- Basic Food Hygiene
- Current Paediatric First Aid Certificate
- Safeguarding or any other relevant training applicable to Early Years.
- Supervising students.
- Ofsted inspections
- Safeguarding
- The skill to provide developmentally appropriate activities, experiences and displays both indoors & outdoors.
- A sound knowledge of the ages & stages of development for babies/children aged 0-48 months
Useful to know
Agenda for Change 2024/25 pays Band 3 at £24,625 – £25,674 a year, across England.
This advert: £25,760 – £27,476 — outside the standard scale; check for HCAS/London weighting.
Posted 2d ago · Closes in 14d
Plenty of time to prepare a strong application.
Full advert · preview
Airedale NHS Foundation Trust
Early Years Nursery Practitioner (Band 3)
The closing date is 30 September 2026
Job summary
This is an exciting time to join us we are preparing for brand new purpose built Day Nursery which will remain on site.
An enthusiastic, caring, highly motivated childcare practitioner is required to join our busy nursery team. The successful candidate must hold a Level 3 qualification in Early Childhood Studies and have previous post qualifying experience of working with children aged 0 - 60 months within a day nursery setting. A good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage is essential.
The hours required are 26.5 per week working different shift patterns to meet the needs of the service
We are rated 'Good' by Ofsted and are proud of our nursery, we would love you to come and join our team!
Previous applicants need not re-apply
Main duties of the job
To care for children in accordance with their individual physical, social and psychological needs.
To work within NHS, Early Years Foundation Stage and Ofsted's national, regional and local guidelines relating to Day Nursery Provision.
To take every reasonable opportunity to maintain existing expertise and develop new skills as appropriate.
About us
Working for the NHS has many benefits including
Generous holiday entitlement
Good pension scheme
Access to Employee
Join the community to read the full pack, responsibilities and person-specification in one place.
Your seat is reserved — activate it
CareerHive is included with your CareerHive Skool community membership. If you haven't claimed your account yet, join the community (or sign in with the same email you joined with) to unlock the full advert, the apply link, HiveMind AI interview & application suite, your private vault, and daily sponsorship alerts.