Apprentice Early Years Practitioner
Wood St Nursery
Havant Road (E17 3JF)
Closes on Sunday 1 November 2026
Posted on 14 September 2026
Contents
Summary
Would you like to complete training in a beautiful and innovative nursery with a well- qualified and curious staff team? We have an Apprenticeship vacancy at Wood St Nursery and are looking for an energetic, motivated Apprentice who would love to spend their time caring for children under 5 and helping them develop and learn.
- Wage
-
£12,480 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age
National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices
Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
Apprentices aged 19 or over, who have completed the first year of the apprenticeship, must thereafter receive at least the correct national minimum wage for their age group.
- Training course
- Early years practitioner (level 2)
- Hours
-
Monday to Friday Morning shift 07:45 to 14:15. Afternoon shift 10:50 to 17:20. Study time provided (total 6.5 hours per week). 30-minute unpaid lunch break.
30 hours a week
- Start date
-
Monday 4 January 2027
- Duration
-
1 year 4 months
- Positions available
-
1
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
In this role, you will learn:
- How to meet children’s social, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs by providing stimulating and age-appropriate play and learning opportunities in the setting
- How to supervise the children where appropriate and to protect them from dangerous or harmful situations, with the support and guidance of senior staff
- How to contribute to a high level of care that will enhance the children’s general health and wellbeing
- How to carry out observations of children, discuss the progress of children with the key person and contribute any ideas to informal and formal planning sessions
- How to be aware of any special needs a child may have and to familiarise yourself with relevant play and learning plans
Your day-to-day job will be:
- To play with and talk to the children
- To build warm and supportive relationships with the children
- To help with care of the children, including changing nappies, helping a child to clean themselves and change their clothes
- To ensure mealtimes are pleasant with conversation and social sharing, and to encourage children to eat a healthy diet
- To support children to be independent as much as possible
- To help with keeping the nursery clean and tidy at all times
- To help other team members throughout the nursery
- To record accidents under the supervision of a paediatric first aider
- To clear up the nursery at the end of the day
- To move and lift furniture and resources to set up and pack away the nursery environment daily/weekly as required
- To follow the nursery safeguarding procedure to ensure all children are kept safe, well and secure
- To attend occasional out of working hours activities, e.g. staff meetings or training
- To be flexible and prepared to help when and where needed in the nursery, including domestic jobs such as cleaning and preparation of snacks
- To read, understand and follow all nursery policies
- Understand and comply with safeguarding policies
- With support, learn about and follow the Early Years Foundation Stage
Where you'll work
Wood St Nursery
St Gabriel S Church
Havant Road
E17 3JF
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
PRE-SCHOOL LEARNING ALLIANCE
Training course
Early years practitioner (level 2)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Support babies and young children through a range of transitions and significant events. e.g moving onto school, moving house or the birth of a sibling.
- Recognise when a child is in danger, at risk of serious harm or abuse and explain the procedures to be followed to protect them. Types of abuse including: domestic, neglect , physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
- Identify risks and hazards in the provision and during off site visits relating to both children and staff and visitors and follow reporting procedures.
- Use prevention and control of infection techniques for hand washing and food preparation and hygiene, deal with spillages safely, safe disposal of waste, using correct personal protective equipment.
- Use equipment, furniture and materials safely and securely, following the manufacturers’ instructions and provision’s requirements.
- Encourage children to be aware of personal safety and the safety of others and develop personal hygiene practices (including oral hygiene).
- Promote health and wellbeing in the provision by encouraging babies and young children to consume healthy, balanced and nutritious meals, snacks and drinks appropriate for their age and be physically active through planned and spontaneous activity throughout the day, both indoors and outdoors.
- Carry out respectful care routines appropriate to the development, stage, dignity and needs of the child, including eating (feeding and weaning or complementary feeding), nappy changing procedures, potty or toilet training, care of skin, teeth and hair and rest and sleep provision.
- Communicate with all children, including those for whom English is an additional language and those with additional needs, in ways that will be understood. This includes verbal and non-verbal communication.
- Extend children’s development and learning through verbal and non-verbal communication.
- Encourage babies and young children to use a range of communication methods.
- Use a range of appropriate communication methods to share information with children, parents or carers and other professionals.
- Work with colleagues to identify and plan educational programmes to support children’s holistic development through a range of play, creativity, social development and learning.
- Implement and review activities to support children’s play, creativity, social development and learning and clear up after activities.
- Observe children, assess, plan and record the outcomes, share results accurately and confidentially in line with expected statutory and the provision’s requirements.
- Use learning activities to support early language development.
- Support children’s early interest and development in mark making, writing, reading and being read to.
- Support children’s interest and development in mathematical learning including numbers, number patterns, counting, sorting and matching.
- Support the graduated approach for the assessment, planning, implementation and reviewing of each baby’s and young child's individual plan for their care and participation.
- Work in ways that value and respect the developmental needs and stages of babies and children.
- Use feedback and mentoring or supervision to identify and support areas for development, goals and career opportunities.
- Work co-operatively with colleagues, other professionals and agencies to meet the needs of babies and young children and enable them to progress.
- Work alongside parents or carers and recognise their role in the baby or child’s health, well-being, learning and development.
- Encourage parents or carers to take an active role in the baby's or child’s care, play, learning and development.
- Demonstrate how to share information with parents or carers about the importance of healthy, balanced and nutritious diets for their child, looking after teeth and being physically active.
- Support babies and young children through a range of transitions and significant events. e.g moving onto school, moving house or the birth of a sibling.
- Recognise when a child is in danger, at risk of serious harm or abuse and explain the procedures to be followed to protect them. Types of abuse including: domestic, neglect , physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
- Identify risks and hazards in the provision and during off site visits relating to both children and staff and visitors and follow reporting procedures.
- Use prevention and control of infection techniques for hand washing and food preparation and hygiene, deal with spillages safely, safe disposal of waste, using correct personal protective equipment.
- Use equipment, furniture and materials safely and securely, following the manufacturers’ instructions and provision’s requirements.
- Encourage children to be aware of personal safety and the safety of others and develop personal hygiene practices (including oral hygiene).
- Promote health and wellbeing in the provision by encouraging babies and young children to consume healthy, balanced and nutritious meals, snacks and drinks appropriate for their age and be physically active through planned and spontaneous activity throughout the day, both indoors and outdoors.
- Carry out respectful care routines appropriate to the development, stage, dignity and needs of the child, including eating (feeding and weaning or complementary feeding), nappy changing procedures, potty or toilet training, care of skin, teeth and hair and rest and sleep provision.
- Communicate with all children, including those for whom English is an additional language and those with additional needs, in ways that will be understood. This includes verbal and non-verbal communication.
- Extend children’s development and learning through verbal and non-verbal communication.
- Encourage babies and young children to use a range of communication methods.
- Use a range of appropriate communication methods to share information with children, parents or carers and other professionals.
- Work with colleagues to identify and plan educational programmes to support children’s holistic development through a range of play, creativity, social development and learning.
- Implement and review activities to support children’s play, creativity, social development and learning and clear up after activities.
- Observe children, assess, plan and record the outcomes, share results accurately and confidentially in line with expected statutory and the provision’s requirements.
- Use learning activities to support early language development.
- Support children’s early interest and development in mark making, writing, reading and being read to.
- Support children’s interest and development in mathematical learning including numbers, number patterns, counting, sorting and matching.
- Support the graduated approach for the assessment, planning, implementation and reviewing of each baby’s and young child's individual plan for their care and participation.
- Work in ways that value and respect the developmental needs and stages of babies and children.
- Use feedback and mentoring or supervision to identify and support areas for development, goals and career opportunities.
- Work co-operatively with colleagues, other professionals and agencies to meet the needs of babies and young children and enable them to progress.
- Work alongside parents or carers and recognise their role in the baby or child’s health, well-being, learning and development.
- Encourage parents or carers to take an active role in the baby's or child’s care, play, learning and development.
- Demonstrate how to share information with parents or carers about the importance of healthy, balanced and nutritious diets for their child, looking after teeth and being physically active.
Training schedule
More training information
You will be enrolled on the Level 2 Early Years Practitioner Standard
Training is delivered weekly via a blend of monthly virtual classroom teaching sessions, online learning, workplace learning, written tasks and face to face assessments and sessions with our assessors
For more information about the apprenticeship training programme, please contact Ria Clifton (Apprenticeship Coordinator) at the Early Years Alliance
ria.clifton@eyalliance.org.uk
Requirements
Desirable qualifications
GCSE in:
- English (grade 4/C)
- maths (grade 4/C)
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- Organisation skills
- Team working
- Creative
- Patience
- Build good relationships
- Positive can do attitude
- Enthusiastic
- Punctual and reliable
- Hard working
Other requirements
- Attendance at 2 annual staff training days, one in January and one in September
- Complete Safeguarding Training
- In The Moment Planning training and Makaton training on the job
- Our nursery has lovely gardens, and our staff must be willing to take the children outside in all weathers. This can be lovely in good weather, but you must also be prepared to take your turn outdoors in the cold and wet!
About this employer
We are 5 minutes walk from Wood Street Station and 20 minutes from Walthamstow Central Station.
We open 48 weeks a year; we are closed the last 2 weeks in August, 1 week in December including the bank holidays and 1 week in the Easter half-term; this one varies depending on when the bank holidays fall.
We have a cycle to work scheme with Bike2Work
After this apprenticeship
Your earnings can increase over time with an apprenticeship. Find out about potential future pay (opens in new tab).
- We have opportunities to progress through the nursery, including Level 3 training
- Level 3 qualified practitioners can progress to a role with additional responsibility, and to Deputy Room Leader
- We are looking to expand and open a second nursery, so further job opportunities are likely within our organisation
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
PRE-SCHOOL LEARNING ALLIANCE
Beth Oliver
managers@woodstnursery.co.uk
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000052564.
Apply now
Closes on Sunday 1 November 2026