Case studies

"I love to be creative and imaginative and this job helps me to be both."

What does the job involve?

Firstly, making the children’s day as enjoyable and fun as possible.  We achieve this by working closely with parents to build positive partnerships with the family to help nurture their child’s development together.

Working well in a team is very important and great communication is essential in this job role. Making sure you relay messages correctly and give handover to parents about their child’s day with as much information as possible.

Safeguarding the children is extremely important and risk assessing situations regularly. Caring for the children is by far the most important part of your job role. You need to make sure that exciting activities are provided that are appropriate to their age and ability but are also able to extend what they already know with your support. Using your initiative is vital when you work in this environment, alongside the Nursery Nurse to ensure the room is running effectively.

What do you love about your job?

I love working with the children at Free Spirits Nursery and all of the staff. I love being able to say that as well as the parents and carers involved in the children’s lives, I have also played a vital part in their children’s development and helped them to become the happy, healthy and independent individuals they are now.

I love to be creative and imaginative and this job helps me to be both.

I love learning new things and working in this Nursery you get the opportunity to learn new things constantly, especially when watching your team members work (seeing what different, new and exciting ideas they have). All the girls I work with are so supportive of one another. It is a very positive environment to work within.

Proudest moment so far?

My proudest moment is definitely getting the phone call to say I had the job! It felt like and is such a huge achievement in my life. It is a fantastic and now officially an Outstanding Nursery to be part of and I feel extremely privileged to work with (in my eyes) the best childcare practitioners there are.

Any tips for finding a job that you love?

Apply for the jobs you want to and have a passion for. Think positively and be optimistic. Make sure that you are suited for the roles you apply for and are fully qualified. Be willing to adapt and be flexible and be open to learn new things and develop your skills through any training that may be required.

Tell us about any travel and / or unusual aspects of the job

Being a Nursery Assistant doesn’t just mean caring for the children. In my experience you also have to be a Scientist, Astronaut, Hairdresser, Nurse and many more things. There are many more exciting and unusual aspects of this job.

What are your usual working hours?

Shifts vary from day to day. We are flexible to work between the hours of 7:00am and 6:00pm. We work 9 ¼ hours for 3 days per week and 1 day of 9 ¾ hours and 1 lieu day off each week.

What training is needed for your job?

The minimum requirement is an NVQ level 2 or an equivalent, but the qualification has to be in childcare. An NVQ level 3 in childcare or an equivalent in childcare is desirable for this job.

We also complete mandatory training every year for the Trust as well as training from the local authority and from the Nursery to update our knowledge.