Early Years Practitioner Level 3 bei Action for Children

Early Years Practitioner (Level 3) 

Location: Exeter 

Salary: up to £26,499 per annum (with pay progression opportunities) 

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

Closing date: Midnight on the 12th of November 2025

Benefits:   

• Time off to recharge - 33 Days leave per year  
• 24/7 Confidential Helpline speak to trained counsellors any time, 365 days a year, for emotional, wellbeing or mental health support. 
• Enhanced Well-being: 8 sessions In-Person, Phone, or Online Counselling or CBT 
• Treat yourself: Staff discounts portal and blue light card with 15,000 + retailers
• Salary Finance – access to financial advice and the ability to manage savings or loans directly from your salary 
• Childcare Discount – A whopping 60% off childcare within our nurseries and out of school clubs 
• Up to 3 Days Dependency Leave – to care for dependents in an emergency. 
• Paid maternity, adoption, and paternity leave  
• Gain professional qualifications and excellent training/development opportunities  
• Secure your future: Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover 

Why Spring Nurseries 

Imagine a place where laughter echoes, imaginations run wild, and every day is a new adventure.  That's Spring Nursery! We're not just a nursery; we are a family dedicated to creating a joyful and nurturing environment where children thrive. As part of Action for Children, we're on a mission to provide outstanding early education that's accessible to all. 

At Spring, we are committed to supporting your career growth! Check out our Spring Career Progression Map attached to this advert, which highlights the options for progression into a specialist role.

A day in the life of an Early Years Practitioner - Level 3 practitioner at Spring Cedars

At Spring Cedars, every day is an adventure! We’re a vibrant, home-from-home nursery where imaginations soar, songs fill the air and muddy boots are a badge of honour.  Think theatrical playtimes, creative expressions and explorations galore, because learning should always feel like magic.

Right now, our team of superheroes is based in a temporary nursery building while our beautiful, brand new 0-3 provision is being lovingly renovated.  In January 2026 will be opening the doors to our stunning new space, bright, spacious and full of wonder, complete with a large outdoor garden where children can climb, dig, imagine, and discover.  It's still very much our signature home from home environment, just with a fresh new sparkle. 

As a Level 3 Early Years Practitioner, you'll be at the heart of it all creating joyful, engaging days for our little ones while keeping everything running smoothly behind the scenes. From planning inspiring weekly activities and setting up inviting learning spaces, to completing observations and supporting your key children's next steps. You’ll blend creativity, care, and professionalism every single day.

You will join a warm, passionate team who are always there to lift each other up, share ideas and have a good laugh in between nappy changes and storytime singalongs.  We truly believe that happy staff make happy children.

If you're qualified Level 3 in early years come grow, laugh, and play your way through this exciting new chapter with us at Spring Cedars.

Your mission (should you choose to accept it)   

• Supervise and protect our children in the safe and stimulating environment  
• Lead exciting preschool activities that spark creativity and curiosity
• Prepare children for the next big adventure: School 
• Creating engaging learning experiences that help children shine 
• Build strong relationships with parents/carers and families
• Meet each child's unique needs with love and attention
• Bring a positive attitude and make every day magical. 

What we need from you    

In the role of Early Years Practitioner (Level 3), we're ideally looking for someone who has:  

• A Level 3 early years and childcare qualification (NNEB, CACHE, NVQ Level 3 or equivalent) 
• A passion for continuous learning and growth, Aligned with our core values and the Spring career pathway 
• A deep understanding of children's development needs (0 to 5 years)
• A positive attitude and a commitment to excellence

Ready to make a difference in the lives of children? Whether you're looking for a career change or the next step in your journey, we'd love to hear from you!

Apply now and help us give children a healthy start in life! 

Contact: If you need support with your application, please contact our Recruitment Team at [email protected] quoting reference 12135. 

We'll be happy to give you any support you require.  

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion  

At Spring Oscars we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within the organisation. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups.  

Male staff are often under-represented within this sector, and we would like to encourage more male applicants for our roles.  

We are committed to safer recruitment practices to protect our service users; therefore, all applicants are expected to have an understanding of and commitment to safeguarding best-practice.  

Application Process 

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

There are 5 sections for you to complete - Personal Details, CV, Supporting Statement & Information, Equality & Diversity, Submission & Declaration – please refer to the Job Description when applying.  

We also want to know what unique qualities you can bring to help us reach our vision for children and families.   

 
Talent Pool: We're sure you've got what it takes to join our ambitious team. If you're unsuccessful this time around, we'd like to hold your details in case similar jobs come up that you might be better suited for. But feel free to let us know if you'd rather we didn't do that.  

Want to know more about Spring and Oscars?  

Check out our socials on Linkedin, Facebook or Youtube. 

See below for further information about working with us: 

Employee Reward Booklet 

Spring Early Years Career Pathway 

Job Description