Reception Teacher (Early Years) CV Examples & Writing Guide

This sample is for a qualified teacher who spent three years leading a pre-school room in a day nursery and has taught Reception in a state primary school since 2021. The name, school and nursery are made up. Nursery and pre-school teachers, practitioners and new graduates can keep the layout and use the personal statements and no-experience section further down.

A primary headteacher and a nursery manager hire under different rules, but they scan a CV for the same four things.

• The qualification, with the age phase. A Reception class teacher in a maintained school needs Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), ideally from a route covering ages 3–7 or 3–11, plus your ECT induction status; most academies ask for QTS too. Nursery and pre-school roles usually ask for Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS), a Level 3 Early Years Educator qualification or a relevant degree, plus Paediatric First Aid. Everyone working with children needs an Enhanced DBS check with a barred list check. Say exactly which you hold.
• Classroom evidence with numbers. Class size, ratios, how many children with SEND or EAL, and what happened to the children: phonics and reading outcomes, the Good Level of Development (GLD) at the end of Reception, progress from the on-entry check, attendance.
• The programmes and tools they use. Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, Read Write Inc. Phonics or another DfE-validated phonics scheme, White Rose Maths, NCETM Mastering Number, Development Matters or Birth to 5 Matters, Tapestry or Evidence Me, Montessori or the Curiosity Approach in nurseries. Matching their tools cuts your settling-in time.
• Parents and behaviour. Consultation attendance, home visits, stay-and-play sessions, communication apps, a regulation or behaviour approach (Zones of Regulation, restorative practice). Reception is the first year of school for most families; headteachers want someone who can hold that relationship.

“I look for QTS and the age phase in the first line, then a class size and one number about what the children learned. Then I read the parent bullet. If all three are there, that teacher is invited to teach an observed lesson.”

Three or four lines: your qualification and age phase, years, the setting and class, the programmes you know, one progress or parent number. Many people search for a career objective for this job; the graduate example below works as one, but it still leads with what you have done.

The duties on your CV should not be a copy of the school's job description. Each bullet point needs the class, the tool, the number and the result. Seven common early years CV lines rewritten:

List 10 to 15 skills, named the way a headteacher or nursery manager would. "Patience" and "love of children" are assumed; the curriculum, assessment and parent tools are what get matched to the advert.

Teaching and assessment skills:

• Early reading: a DfE-validated systematic synthetic phonics programme (Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, Read Write Inc. Phonics, Essential Letters and Sounds), keep-up and catch-up sessions, shared reading, early writing
• Early maths: White Rose Maths, NCETM Mastering Number, number sense routines, maths in continuous provision
• Nursery approaches: Development Matters, Birth to 5 Matters, Montessori, the Curiosity Approach, Reggio-inspired practice, in-the-moment planning
• Assessment: Reception Baseline Assessment, EYFS Profile, phonics assessments, Tapestry or Evidence Me observations, the progress check at age two (nurseries), WellComm language screening
• Adaptive teaching: SEN support plans and EHCP outcomes, EAL strategies (visuals, gesture, talk partners, home-language support), challenge for more able children
• Behaviour and regulation: Zones of Regulation, restorative practice, visual timetables, transitions
• Play-based learning, continuous provision, project-based topics, outdoor learning and Forest School
• Curriculum: the EYFS statutory framework, the seven areas of learning and the early learning goals, and transition to the Year 1 National Curriculum

Parent, team and technology skills:

• Parent communication tools: Tapestry, Evidence Me, ClassDojo, Seesaw, ParentMail, Famly or Blossom (nurseries)
• Parent consultations, home visits, stay-and-play sessions; a second language (name it)
• Working with and directing teaching assistants or nursery practitioners
• MIS and safeguarding systems used by your school: Arbor, SIMS, CPOMS, MyConcern
• Google Workspace for Education, Promethean or Smart interactive screens, Teach Your Monster to Read, Numbots
• Health and safety: Paediatric First Aid, allergy and medicines procedures, safeguarding and Prevent training, EYFS ratios and welfare requirements

Requirements differ by setting, so name the exact qualification. A Reception class in a state school is a qualified teacher's post. Nurseries and pre-schools are registered and inspected by Ofsted under the EYFS, and staff qualifications decide the ratios a room can work to. This page follows England's system; in Scotland teachers register with the GTCS, in Wales with the EWC and in Northern Ireland with the GTCNI, and the early years curricula differ.

• Reception in a school: Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), earned through a PGCE with QTS, a school-centred (SCITT) or school-led route, an undergraduate degree with QTS or, more recently, a teacher degree apprenticeship. Primary routes often specialise in ages 3–7 (early years) or 5–11. Write the exact wording and status: "QTS, 2023 (PGCE Primary 3–7); ECT induction completed July 2025". Add any specialism, such as SEND or a language.
• Tests and checks: England has no separate licensing exam for teachers. The old professional skills tests were dropped in 2020, and trainees are assessed against the Teachers' Standards during training. Training providers ask for GCSE English, maths and (for primary) science at grade 4/C or above. Never list an assessment you did not take.
• Nursery and pre-school: Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS), gained through Early Years Initial Teacher Training (a graduate route), lets you lead learning in nurseries but is not the same as QTS for a school teaching post. A full and relevant Level 3 Early Years Educator qualification (Level 2 for assistants) counts in Ofsted ratios; check that yours is on the Department for Education's list of approved early years qualifications. Room leaders and managers often hold a foundation degree or BA in early childhood studies.
• Montessori: an AMI or other Montessori early childhood diploma, with the training centre and year. Check whether your diploma is on the DfE approved list before relying on it for ratios.
• Health and safety: Paediatric First Aid (12-hour course; Level 2 and 3 staff who qualified after June 2016 need it, or an emergency course, to count in ratios), safeguarding and child protection training (KCSIE in schools, the EYFS requirements in nurseries), Prevent awareness, and a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate if you prepare food. Schools and nurseries carry out an Enhanced DBS check with a barred list check before you start.
• Education: degree, subject, classification and year, plus your GCSE English and maths grades. For nursery roles, give the level of each early years qualification if the advert asks for a minimum ("Level 3 or above").

Most new early years teachers have more classroom time than they realise: school and nursery placements, supply days, holiday clubs, after-school clubs, babysitting and Sunday school. Headteachers and nursery managers recruit new staff every spring and summer. They want to see the qualification, the placements with numbers, and evidence you can manage a room of four- and five-year-olds.

1. 1Put your qualification status in the header: "QTS (PGCE Primary 3–7), 2026" or "Level 3 Early Years Educator, 2026". If it is pending, say "recommended for QTS; award expected July 2027".
2. 2Write a three-line personal statement with your qualification and date, your placement class size and year group, the programmes you were trained in, and the role you want.
3. 3Treat school and nursery placements as jobs: setting type, year group, class size, weeks, what you led (phonics sessions, continuous provision, parent meetings), and any assessment you carried out.
4. 4Add every paid or volunteer role with young children, with numbers: nanny or babysitter (ages, hours a week), holiday club or playscheme leader (group of 12, ages 5 to 7), after-school club, church crèche or Sunday school, tutoring, supply or cover work (days and year groups).
5. 5List training by name even if it came from your course: Little Wandle or Read Write Inc., Tapestry, Zones of Regulation, safeguarding and Prevent, Paediatric First Aid.
6. 6One page if you can, education and qualifications near the top, and a short skills block that mirrors the advert's programmes and tools.

Two pages is normal for UK teachers with a few years' experience; one page works for new teachers and practitioners. No photo, date of birth or marital status on a UK CV (some countries expect a photo, so follow local practice if you apply abroad). Order: header with QTS or EYTS and age phase, personal statement, qualifications, experience, skills, education. Most state schools and academies also ask for their own application form and a supporting statement as part of safer recruitment, often through Teaching Vacancies, TES, Eteach or a local authority portal, so keep the facts identical and use the advert's words.

• Mirror the qualification wording: "QTS", "EYTS", "PGCE Primary (3–7)", "Level 3 Early Years Educator", "Paediatric First Aid", "Enhanced DBS".
• Name the programmes and tools they name: Little Wandle, Read Write Inc., White Rose Maths, Mastering Number, Development Matters, Tapestry, Zones of Regulation, ClassDojo.
• Include the phrases schools search: "EYFS", "continuous provision", "characteristics of effective learning", "adaptive teaching", "SEND", "EAL", "parent partnership", "safeguarding", "Good Level of Development".
• Use plain headings and a PDF (unless the school asks for Word or its own form); avoid tables and text boxes so a parser reads every line.