Job overview
External Candidates Only:
Senior Early Years Educator NHS Band 4
Full Time Post: 37.5hrs over a 9 day fortnight - Mon to Fri
The Candidate must have a min Level 3 NVQ in Childcare & Education AND have high levels of knowledge and Experience with the EYFS
Are you an experienced Early Years practitioner ready to step up and lead your own room? We’re looking for a confident and passionate Senior Early Years Educator to join our friendly, supportive nursery team.
If you love motivating others, creating inspiring learning environments, and helping children thrive—this could be the role for you!
The Sussex House Nursery, Royal Sussex County Hospital Brighton is looking for a qualified and very experienced Senior Early Years practitioner to lead a small team in our 1-2 year playroom.
We are a registered 67 place NHS workplace nursery caring and educating babies to preschool from 6 mths to 5 years of NHS employees.
Being adaptable, with strong teamwork attributes is important for this role.
Excellent NHS Pension
Excellent Annual leave
Please note: This role does not meet the minimum criteria for visa sponsorship under the current UK immigration rules, which set specific salary and skill thresholds. As such, we are unable to provide sponsorship for this post. Applicants will therefore need to already have the right to work in the UK to be considered. We include this information at the outset to provide clarity and avoid unnecessary inconvenience for applicants.
If you do not meet the sponsorship requirements, and you are applying using a Graduate visa as your right to work, you must have a minimum of 18 months remaining on your visa at time of application.
Main duties of the job
As Senior Early Years Educator your role is to oversee the day to day running of the playroom, ensuring the educational and welfare requirements are met by the staff within the room.
We are looking for a highly competent candidate who with the support of play room colleagues will create a safe, caring and stimulating environment for children under the age of 5 years. To encourage the children's development and understanding through play and other learning experiences.
As the Lead in the playroom a good understanding of the delivering the Early Years Curriculum (EYFS) and working with Ofsted outcomes is vital.
The candidate must have prior experience of building and maintaining strong parent partnership working. They must show flexibility and adaptability as each day can be very different but equally enjoyable and imaginative. Being able to retain information, and use initiative and delegate duties is a must for this post.
Working for our organisation
At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always deliver Excellent Care Everywhere, as shown in our Outstanding for Caring CQC rating. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of staff networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3) and a Veteran Aware Trust.
Candidate Pack
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To abide by and adhere to the Nursery mission statement “Our Nursery puts your child first”, we require the following in a candidate:
1. To role model ‘Best Practice’ To be up to date in current thinking and practice and ensure the room is delivering the best possible curriculum for the children.
2. To meet with the Nursery Manager / Deputy Manager on a regular basis to discuss performance development, playroom, and individual needs.
3. To be responsible for a Key Group of children. To support their all-round development in the following areas: Physical, Intellectual, Language, emotional, social skills, and cultural needs.
4. To encourage all areas of the children’s development with the appropriate learning opportunities and play opportunities.
5. To be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day practise within the playroom.
6. Supporting staff, students, and volunteers with the daily routine of the nursery
7. To engage work with other Health, Education and Safeguarding professionals.
8. Ability to conduct 1:1 supervision with newly appointed junior staff, students, and volunteers.
9. Support students on placement to ensure they cover the relevant learning criteria.
10. To devise playroom action plans and contribute to the wider department planned actions.
11. To be confident to support the team of the daily routine in the absence of the Nursery Manager and/or Deputy Manager
12. To support ‘Shared Care’ learning with other settings.
Person specification
Knowledge
Essential criteria
13. Childcare Qualification NVQ /NNEB/CACHE/ City & Guilds/ BTEC Min Level 3
14. Knowledge of milestone development of children under 5 years
15. Knowledge of Safeguarding Young Children
16. Knowledge of Planning and Implementing a early years curriculum (EYFS)
17. Knowledge of Ofsted Inspection Outcomes
18. Knowledge of Early Childhood Illnesses / Allergies / care Needs
Desirable criteria
19. Level 4 Qualification in Early Years
20. Full Paediatric First Aid Certificate
21. Food Hygiene Certificate
22. SEND Related Training
Experience and Skills
Essential criteria
23. Substantial post qualifying experience of childcare
24. Substantial experience of being a Key Carer
25. Substantial experience of working in a team
26. Substantial experience of partnership working (parents / professionals)
27. To implement activities which are appropriate for the development and interests of the individual and group.
Desirable criteria
28. To conduct 1:1 supervision with newly appointed junior staff, students, and volunteers.
29. Experience of other Health, Education and Safeguarding concerns
30. Experience of conducting Parents Evenings / School Visit
31. To hold good I.T. Skills i.e. Word Doc
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Essential criteria
32. Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role
33. Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
Important information for applicants:
A Note on AI Use in Applications
We value the individuality and authenticity that each candidate brings to the application process. While AI tools are increasingly accessible, we strongly discourage their use in completing your application. Your responses should reflect your own voice, experiences, and motivations—elements that are essential to a fair and accurate evaluation.
Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content may misrepresent your abilities and could result in your application being rejected. We encourage you to take the time to present your genuine self, as this helps us better understand your potential and ensures a transparent selection process.
Closing Adverts Early: In the event of exceptional interest, we may close adverts earlier than specified.
Some of our adverts are capped for a limited number of applications; therefore, the advert will close once the cap has been reached. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible if you are interested in the position to prevent you from missing out on applying for the opportunity.
Flexible Working: If you would like to explore potential options regarding flexible working please speak with the appropriate recruiting/line manager.
DBS Checks: As part of our commitment to a safe working environment, we undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check on all new employees where the role is eligible for a criminal record check. We make offers in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975.
Skilled Worker Visa: Applications for Skilled Worker sponsorship are welcome for the roles that meet the Visa and Immigrations eligibility criteria. For further information please visit the gov.uk website searching for Skilled Worker. It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure that you meet this criteria.
UHSussex reserves the right to close the role early if we receive a high volume of applications