Nursery Practitioner (Childcare Worker) CV Examples & Writing Guide

The person below is invented, but the details are what a nursery manager scans for. Every job names the age group, the group size and the staffing, because that is how nursery staffing works. A CV that just says "cared for children" tells a manager nothing about whether you can hold a baby room on a Monday morning.

A manager hiring for a nursery room is thinking about Ofsted, ratios and parents, in that order. Five things get checked before anything else.

• Age group. Babies, toddlers, preschool and school-age are different skills, and the EYFS sets different staff-to-child ratios for each. Say which rooms you have worked.
• Checks and certificates. Enhanced DBS, paediatric first aid and your qualification level, and whether you are on the DBS Update Service. If these are current, say so, because it means you can start sooner.
• Whether you count in ratio. Room leader, Level 3 qualified, opening or closing the room. Managers need people who count as qualified staff, not just extra hands.
• Parent communication. Daily updates, parent meetings, difficult conversations about biting or delays. Occupancy depends on it, so managers screen for it.
• Reliability. Childcare breaks when someone does not show up, because the ratio breaks with them. Long service and good attendance are worth stating.

“The first thing I look for is the age group and whether they can count in ratio. The second is how they write about children. If a CV says 'watched kids', that tells me one thing. If it says 'documented milestones in Tapestry and ran two parent meetings a year', that tells me something completely different.”

Three sentences: years and age groups, what you run day to day, then qualifications. Use a career objective only if this would be your first childcare job.

Childcare bullets go wrong in the same way every time: they describe caring instead of showing responsibility. Add the number of children, the age, the routine and the outcome.

Managers want to see three layers: the daily routines, the developmental side, and the adult-facing work. Ten to fourteen items is plenty.

• Daily care: nappy changing and toilet training routines, bottle and feeding schedules, safe sleep practice, sleep transitions, mealtimes, handwashing and cleaning routines, dressing for outdoor play, arrival and collection checks.

• Development and learning: activity planning, circle time, early reading and counting games, sensory and messy play, physical development activities, tracking development against the EYFS, familiarity with approaches such as HighScope or Montessori-inspired practice, observations and learning journals.

• Behaviour and safety: positive behaviour management and redirection, biting and hitting responses, settling-in and separation anxiety support, supervision and headcounts, ratio awareness, accident reporting, fire drills, allergy and medication procedures.

• Adult-facing: daily parent updates in Famly or Tapestry, parent meetings, handling a worried or upset parent calmly, working alongside a colleague in the room, and mentoring assistants and apprentices.

In England, the EYFS statutory framework sets the qualification and ratio rules, which differ by age group, and Ofsted registers and inspects nurseries. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own frameworks and regulators. Check the current rules where you work, then list what you hold with the awarding body and the year.

• Level 3 Early Years Educator, such as the Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Workforce, taken at college or through an apprenticeship. The qualification most nurseries in England look for, because it lets you count as Level 3 staff in the ratios. Check that yours is on the Department for Education list of full and relevant early years qualifications.
• Paediatric first aid, a 12-hour course that usually takes two days. Expected for nursery staff and checked on the first day; renew it every three years.
• Enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list. Say if you are on the DBS Update Service, because it can speed up your start by weeks.
• Safeguarding and child protection training, which nurseries expect all staff to complete and refresh regularly.
• Safer sleep and abusive head trauma (shaken baby) prevention training, common for baby room staff.
• A Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene certificate if you prepare or serve food, and medication training if your nursery allows staff to give medicine.
• Your continuing professional development (CPD) record and training hours, if your nursery or local authority keeps one.
• Higher study in early years: a foundation degree, an Early Childhood Studies degree or Early Years Teacher Status, or progress towards one. Many nurseries pay more for higher qualifications, even part-way through.

Put qualifications in their own block near the top if the advert names one. Never write "qualified" without saying which qualification, from whom and when.

Nurseries hire assistants and apprentices without nursery experience all the time, especially for afternoon and closing shifts. What they need is a clear Enhanced DBS check, a paediatric first aid certificate and evidence you have looked after children responsibly.

1. 1Get a 12-hour paediatric first aid certificate before you apply. It usually takes two days and makes you easier to hire straight away.
2. 2Ask about the Enhanced DBS check early, since the nursery applies for it; if you already hold one, join the DBS Update Service so it can be checked quickly.
3. 3Write a career objective naming the age group you want and the shifts you can cover, including openings and closes.
4. 4List babysitting, family care and volunteer work properly: ages, number of children, hours per week and what you actually did.
5. 5Add any related work: holiday club or summer camp leader, Sunday school, sports coaching, tutoring, school volunteering, youth group leader, lifeguard.
6. 6Mention that you are enrolled on or planning a Level 3 Early Years Educator course or apprenticeship. Managers take that seriously because it shows you intend to stay in the field.

Childcare covers several different employers with different priorities. The body of your CV can stay the same, but the first six lines should change.

• Day nursery: lead with age group, group size, ratio, the EYFS and the nursery's inspection record. Nurseries are staffing rooms and thinking about Ofsted.
• Childminder or childminding assistant: lead with the mixed age range, the small group, and the fact that you handled meals, cleaning, records and invoicing parents as well as care.
• Preschool or school nursery class: lead with the EYFS, early literacy and numeracy, observation and assessment, and school readiness, plus any higher study in early years.
• Breakfast and after-school clubs: lead with group size, homework support, activity rotations and collection checks for large numbers of authorised adults.
• Nanny or in-home role: lead with the family set-up, ages, driving, meal preparation, school runs and years with each family. Long service with one family is the strongest signal here.
• School nursery classes and some funded settings need specific qualifications to lead a group, such as Qualified Teacher Status or Early Years Teacher Status. Read the advert carefully and put the qualification it names at the top of your page.

• One or two pages. One is enough for many practitioners early on; use two once you have a room leader, deputy or manager role.
• Plain layout, reverse-chronological, no photo and no date of birth. UK CVs leave these out, even though childcare CVs in some other countries include them.
• Put qualifications and checks in the header area or just below the personal statement, not at the very bottom.
• Mirror the advert's vocabulary: room leader, nursery practitioner, nursery assistant, ratio, Ofsted, EYFS, Level 3, observations, learning journal, parent partnership, positive behaviour, safeguarding.
• Name the software: Famly, Tapestry, Blossom, Kinderly. Nurseries train new staff on these and prefer someone who already knows one.
• Show consistent employment. In childcare, staying two or three years in one room is a genuine selling point, so make the dates easy to read.

Last check: does the page say which room you can be handed on Monday, and whether your DBS and first aid let you start this week? If not, move those facts up.