About us
Join one of the UK’s most respected nurseries in a world-leading university setting.
The UCL Day Nursery is a well-established, inclusive and nurturing setting located in the heart of UCL’s historic Bloomsbury campus. Rated ‘Good with Outstanding Features’ by Ofsted, we provide high-quality care and early education for the children of UCL staff and students. We’re now looking for passionate and professional Early Years Practitioners to join our team.
About the role
What You’ll Do
As an Early Years Practitioner, you'll play a key role in providing a safe, caring and stimulating environment for children aged 0–5. You will:
- Act as a Key Worker to a group of children, planning and observing learning through play
- Deliver engaging, child-led activities aligned with the EYFS framework
- Build strong, respectful partnerships with parents and carers
- Promote a safe, inclusive and nurturing environment where every child can thrive
- Support nursery routines, meal times, outdoor play, and learning across both nursery sites
About you
✅ What You Bring
We’re looking for someone who is energetic, compassionate and committed to delivering exceptional care and education. You’ll need:
- A Level 3 qualification in Early Years and Education (NNEB/NVQ or equivalent)
- Proven experience in a nursery setting working with children 0–5
- A thorough understanding of EYFS, child development and safeguarding practices
- Strong communication and organisational skills
- A flexible and collaborative mindset
Experience with Forest School or Reggio Emilia approaches, and confidence with Ofsted standards, are desirable but not essential.
The working pattern for this role will be Monday – Friday, either 8.30-16.30 or 9.30 – 17.30, with a longer day on Thursdays to allow for all-staff meetings.
For the right candidate we are open to flexible working requests for this role.; compressed hours, part-time, part year, term time, etc. We encourage you to discuss your flexible working needs during the interview process.
Term dates would be...
️ Term Dates 2025–2026
Autumn Term
- Term dates: Monday 1 September – Friday 19 December 2025
- Half-term break: Monday 27 October – Friday 31 October 2025
- Christmas break: Monday 22 December 2025 – Friday 2 January 2026
Spring Term
- Term dates: Monday 5 January – Friday 27 March 2026
- Half-term break: Monday 16 February – Friday 20 February 2026
- Easter/Spring holiday: Monday 30 March – Friday 10 April 2026 (Good Friday 3 April, Easter Monday 6 April)
Summer Term
- Term dates: Monday 13 April – Monday 20 July 2026
- May Day (Bank Holiday): Monday 4 May 2026
- Half-term break: Monday 25 May – Friday 29 May 2026 (Spring Bank Holiday Monday 25 May)
Why Join Us?
- Be part of the UCL community – one of the world’s top universities
- Access training and professional development to support your growth
- Work in a diverse, vibrant and inclusive setting that values your contribution
- Contribute to a team that prioritises the wellbeing and happiness of every child
What we offer
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:
- 41 Days holiday: 27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days (pro rata for part time staff)
- Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme (pro rata for part time staff)
- Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
- Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
- Immigration loan
- Relocation scheme for certain posts
- On-Site nursery
- On-site gym
- Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
- Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
- Discounted medical insurance
Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.
We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce.
These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.
Our faculty holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality.
