A nursery nurse job description may include:
- spending time reading to children, telling stories or listening to them
- assisting children in play
- being on your feet all day, playing inside or outside or providing children with interesting arts and crafts work
- helping with cooking, preparing and feeding meals and snacks
- assisting with toilet training and changing nappies
- helping teach children basic hygiene practices such as washing hands
- washing and change children, ensuring that they are clean
- providing comfort and reassurance if children are ill or upset.
A career as a nursery nurse is very rewarding. You will be looking after young children, usually under the age of 5, so you’ll need to demonstrate that you are responsible and dedicated.
What is a nursery nurse?
People in nursery nurse jobs look after babies and small children, ensuring that they are contented, fed and safe, and able to play. They work with children from a wide variety of different backgrounds and cultures, and might be employed to look after children with physical or learning disabilities. Nursery nurses are usually responsible for a small group of children and often work with another nursery nurse; so you should enjoy teamwork with other adults as well as working with a range of children.
If you enjoy working with young children ‘hands on’, nursery nurse jobs are for you. Nursery nurses assist with all aspects of a child’s personal development. They are usually based at private nurseries or those attached to schools, but nursery nurses can also be employed in other establishments such as family centres or hospitals. Posts can be either full or part time. Hours can vary and you might be required to work during holidays or at weekends. Some establishments allow nursery nurses to bring their own children to work. In some posts and circumstances, you may be required to work closely with social services.
Nursery nurse responsibilities.
Your entire working day will be dealing with children, so you should be patient, fun, understanding, organised and creative. It’s a good idea to research the role thoroughly before embarking on this career path through training and qualifications, to ensure that you are fully aware of the typical duties you may be required to do. Volunteer, if you can, at a nursery, to get a feel for it. An enhanced DBS check will need to be conducted, so prospective employers or establishments know that you are safe to work with children.
Childcare qualifications.
In terms of qualifications, most jobs ask for a NVQ Level 2 or 3 qualification (of which there are a variety:
- CACHE Early Years Educator
- Certificate for the Children and Young People's Workforce
- Children’s Care, Learning and Development
- Early Years Care and Education
- Childcare and Education
- Playwork; or an old NNEB (National Nursery Examination Board) certificate.
- Qualifications such as GCSEs, First Aid, CPR and a full driving licence may also give you an advantage over other candidates.
Desired personal qualities for a nursery nurse.
You will be solely responsible for the care of someone else’s children, so you need to be trustworthy, passionate and dedicated to your work. As a nursery nurse, you are responsible for the wellbeing of children, so you’ll be required to monitor them closely and report any sensitive issues you are concerned about. Records will also need to be kept, tracking the development of children; often for the benefit of parents, to monitor how their children are progressing.
Nursery nurse salary.
There are many opportunities for career progression and many different positions and contexts to work in. The more experience you have (from babysitting, volunteering, to managing a nursery), the more opportunities are available to you. You might be interested in applying for a role in a private nursery nurse for a family and could find yourself chaperoning the children on outings or holidays. Nursery nurses typically earn £12,000 - £19,000, but it depends on the establishment and your levels of qualifications and experience.
For those who love to play with and look after small children, with a strong sense of responsibility, it is an extremely rewarding career.
