Working in a group setting

Things to know if you want to work in a group setting

Early years practitioners work with children from birth to 5 years old in Ofsted registered settings such as:

day nurseries
pre-schools (playgroups)
maintained and independent nursery schools

Job roles include everything from nursery assistants to early years teachers and everything in-between! Did you know that some settings offer forest school, farm school or beach school? Practitioners support child led exploration and learning in the natural environment in all weather and all seasons. So if you love nature and the outdoors as well as being passionate about children’s learning, this kind of setting might be for you.

No matter what the setting, your role will involve providing early education in a safe, fun, engaging environment and supporting children with their learning and development.

Things to consider

You should consider that:
- day nurseries can care for children from birth to 5 years, so you will have lots of opportunity to work with different age groups
- you could become a specialist in an age group, for example babies or toddlers
- day nurseries are often open from 8.00am until 6.00pm
- many day nurseries run shifts to cover the opening hours, so you might have early starts or late finishes
- day nurseries are open all year, so offer a year-round salary
"In what other job can you be pulled into the imagination of a 2-year-old? Be a spaceman, pirate, fairy or builder, all in one day..."

Day Nursery, Horsham
You should consider:
- pre-schools (playgroups) and local authority maintained nursery classes or schools generally take children aged 2 or 3 to 5 years
- they are usually open school hours, with shorter days and in term-time only
- that this means your salary, although paid across the full year, will also be term-time only
- they may offer sessional childcare, so you could have different groups of children in the morning and in the afternoon
- pre-schools can be pack-away, meaning they share the space and need to get everything out in the morning and pack everything away at the end of the day
"It’s challenging but the most rewarding job. Watching children grow and develop … and being part of their journey is a wonderful thing. And it works around my family life as a mum."

Pre-School, Adur
You should consider:
- practitioners working in forest, farm and beach schools can spend nearly all of their time outdoors - all year round and in all weather - so enjoying being out in the elements is a must
- inspiring a love of nature and encouraging outdoor exploration in an environment where conditions can change quickly means practitioners need to be flexible and creative to make the most of the learning experiences these changes offer
- some settings might want you to take a forest school qualification to lead forest school sessions
- that you might be asked to do outdoor first aid training
"What other job can you play in the woods all day?"

Pre-school and forest school, Horsham

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