Apprentice Early Years Lead Practitioner (Level 5) - Woodhouse Nursery
SUNNINGDALE YORKSHIRE LTD
Sheffield (S13 7PN)
Closes in 24 days (Friday 31 October 2025)
Posted on 6 October 2025
Contents
Summary
We’re looking for someone who shares our commitment to making a meaningful difference in our nursery and is seeking a long-term role where they can truly grow with us. This position is ideal for someone who is passionate about early years education, if you're ready to invest in us, we’re ready to invest in you.
- Wage
-
£11,778 to £19,047.60, depending on your age
National Minimum Wage
- Training course
- Early years lead practitioner (level 5)
- Hours
-
Flexible within the hours of 8.00am and 6.00pm Monday - Friday
30 hours a week
- Start date
-
Monday 3 November 2025
- Duration
-
1 year 6 months
- Positions available
-
2
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
"We’re looking for someone who shares our commitment to making a meaningful difference in our nursery and is seeking a long-term role where they can truly grow with us.
This position is ideal for someone who is passionate about early years education and dedicated to staying within the nursery setting, rather than using it as a stepping stone to transition into school-based roles. If you're ready to invest in us, we’re ready to invest in you—with support, development, and a nurturing team environment."Passionate about supporting young children to thrive
Key points:
- Good team player
- Can use own initiative and be self-motivated
- Have knowledge and experience of working with children with SEND (important)
- Flexible teaching approach to deliver our curriculum
- Have a good understanding of child development
- Have a friendly, loving and warm manner
- Paediatric first aid trained
- Enhanced DBS check required – completed by the nursery
- On-site car park, on bus route, large nursery set within beautiful building and a fantastic outdoor space
"Our nursery embraces a play-based approach rooted in nature, where children explore, discover, and learn through interaction with natural materials like wood, leaves, stones, and water—nurturing creativity, curiosity, and connection to the world around them."
Where you'll work
53 Beighton Road
Sheffield
S13 7PN
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
SKERN LODGE LIMITED
Training course
Early years lead practitioner (level 5)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Advocate for children through their child centred approach, listening to the voice of the child; ensuring children’s rights, views and wishes are heard, respected and acted upon at all times. Offer appropriate support and influence decisions in the best interests of the child.
- Develop, model and implement strategies to support the emotional, social, psychological, physical and cultural needs of all children within the educational setting.
- Support and promote children’s diverse speech, language and communication development and determining and adapting appropriate responses and interventions to support verbal, nonverbal interactions and engagement with written communication.
- Support children to engage in a range of learning contexts such as individual, small groups and larger groups as appropriate for their play and support confidence within social experiences.
- Engage in effective strategies to develop and extend children's learning and thinking, including sustained shared thinking.
- Promote, model and support children and families to develop a healthy approach to making choices relating to personal care including eating, sleeping and physical activity.
- Analyse and articulate how all children’s individual learning can be affected by their current developmental capabilities, characteristics and individual circumstances taking into account all factors contributing to typical and atypical development.
- Ensure plans fully reflect the individual development needs and circumstances of children and actively participate in the provision of consistent care, responding quickly to the needs of the individual child.
- Plan, carry out and guide appropriate personal care routines for individual children.
- Competently action and carry out safeguarding procedures, using their professional curiosity, knowledge, insight and understanding.
- Explore and understand, challenge and question; knowing when to act to safeguard and protect children.
- Encourage all children’s participation, ensuring a sensitive, respectful and effective balance within the adult and child dynamic to facilitate play opportunities.
- Ensure staff are deployed effectively to suit and enhance the learning environment, prioritising the safety and wellbeing of all children.
- Cultivate professional partnerships with parents, carers, colleagues and other professionals, presenting their understanding of the child’s journey within multidisciplinary teams to holistically support the child’s individual needs.
- Demonstrate the importance of the home learning environment, developing an effective and collaborative partnership to enhance opportunities for the child.
- Provide a dynamic, evolving and enabling environment that reflects the current interests, motivations, and play of individual and groups of children.
- Use current and contemporary knowledge, research, theories and approaches to develop, enhance and articulate their own pedagogical approach and practice.
- Observe, assess, plan, facilitate and participate in play opportunities which include current curriculum requirements.
- Make use of formative and summative assessment, tracking children’s progress to plan for future learning possibilities including early interventions based on individual developmental needs.
- Take responsibility for supporting the key person in articulating children's progress and planning future learning possibilities including the safe use of digital technology to communicate effectively in both oral and written English.
- Promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice.
- Be a leaderful practitioner to support, mentor, coach, train and guide colleagues in a range of educational settings, providing inspiration and motivation to engage others to develop their practice, supporting teams and guiding change.
- Identify, action and competently challenge issues and undertake difficult conversations where appropriate.
- Use reflection to develop themselves both professionally and personally to enhance their practice.
- Ensure the security and confidentiality of data, records and information in line with current legislation.
- Identify and act upon own responsibilities in relation to health and safety, prevention and control of infection, carrying out risk assessments and risk management processes in line with policies and procedures.
- Apply the principles of sustainability and segregate used resources for reuse, recycling, and safe disposal .
- Advocate for children through their child centred approach, listening to the voice of the child; ensuring children’s rights, views and wishes are heard, respected and acted upon at all times. Offer appropriate support and influence decisions in the best interests of the child.
- Develop, model and implement strategies to support the emotional, social, psychological, physical and cultural needs of all children within the educational setting.
- Support and promote children’s diverse speech, language and communication development and determining and adapting appropriate responses and interventions to support verbal, nonverbal interactions and engagement with written communication.
- Support children to engage in a range of learning contexts such as individual, small groups and larger groups as appropriate for their play and support confidence within social experiences.
- Engage in effective strategies to develop and extend children's learning and thinking, including sustained shared thinking.
- Promote, model and support children and families to develop a healthy approach to making choices relating to personal care including eating, sleeping and physical activity.
- Analyse and articulate how all children’s individual learning can be affected by their current developmental capabilities, characteristics and individual circumstances taking into account all factors contributing to typical and atypical development.
- Ensure plans fully reflect the individual development needs and circumstances of children and actively participate in the provision of consistent care, responding quickly to the needs of the individual child.
- Plan, carry out and guide appropriate personal care routines for individual children.
- Competently action and carry out safeguarding procedures, using their professional curiosity, knowledge, insight and understanding.
- Explore and understand, challenge and question; knowing when to act to safeguard and protect children.
- Encourage all children’s participation, ensuring a sensitive, respectful and effective balance within the adult and child dynamic to facilitate play opportunities.
- Ensure staff are deployed effectively to suit and enhance the learning environment, prioritising the safety and wellbeing of all children.
- Cultivate professional partnerships with parents, carers, colleagues and other professionals, presenting their understanding of the child’s journey within multidisciplinary teams to holistically support the child’s individual needs.
- Demonstrate the importance of the home learning environment, developing an effective and collaborative partnership to enhance opportunities for the child.
- Provide a dynamic, evolving and enabling environment that reflects the current interests, motivations, and play of individual and groups of children.
- Use current and contemporary knowledge, research, theories and approaches to develop, enhance and articulate their own pedagogical approach and practice.
- Observe, assess, plan, facilitate and participate in play opportunities which include current curriculum requirements.
- Make use of formative and summative assessment, tracking children’s progress to plan for future learning possibilities including early interventions based on individual developmental needs.
- Take responsibility for supporting the key person in articulating children's progress and planning future learning possibilities including the safe use of digital technology to communicate effectively in both oral and written English.
- Promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice.
- Be a leaderful practitioner to support, mentor, coach, train and guide colleagues in a range of educational settings, providing inspiration and motivation to engage others to develop their practice, supporting teams and guiding change.
- Identify, action and competently challenge issues and undertake difficult conversations where appropriate.
- Use reflection to develop themselves both professionally and personally to enhance their practice.
- Ensure the security and confidentiality of data, records and information in line with current legislation.
- Identify and act upon own responsibilities in relation to health and safety, prevention and control of infection, carrying out risk assessments and risk management processes in line with policies and procedures.
- Apply the principles of sustainability and segregate used resources for reuse, recycling, and safe disposal .
Training schedule
Level 5 Early Years Lead Practioner Apprenticeship Standard
Requirements
Desirable qualifications
GCSE or equivalent in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Problem solving skills
- Administrative skills
- Logical
- Team working
- Creative
- Initiative
- Non judgemental
- Patience
- Physical fitness
Other requirements
This is a physical and active role and you will need to be alert and have the ability to get involved.
About this employer
Woodhouse Nursery welcomes families and children from our local and wider community. We believe that every child matters and our passionate team focus on delivering care and teaching so that every child can develop, progress and be confident in their abilities.
After this apprenticeship
- Upon successful completion of your level 5 there will be the opportunity to become a permanent member of staff
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
SKERN LODGE LIMITED
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000345263.
Apply now
Closes in 24 days (Friday 31 October 2025)
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