What’s it like to work in a nursery?
Connex provides excellent early years staff to nurseries throughout the UK and in fact, we like to think we’re pretty good at it. So, if you’re looking for early years work and want to know a little bit more about what a typical day looks like, we spoke to one of our candidates in Liverpool. Here’s what her day looks like, it looks awesome!
The day in the life
7.30am – as a nursery nurse, we’re up early because we start work early! This allows many of the parents to drop their children off before they start their day. At 7.30am we’re setting the nursery up for breakfast and setting up the toys for arrival.
8am – 9am – This is when the fun starts as the children begin to arrive, we greet them and make sure any coats are hung up on the correct hangars and welcome them to the nursery. Once settled this is when we serve the children breakfast. If it’s a pre-school age of 2-5 years, the breakfast is usually served a little later in the morning.
9am – After breakfast is when the structured activities commence. This varies between outdoor play or computer time. The latter might surprise some, but introducing children to technology is so important for their cognitive development.
10am – After working up an appetite it’s snack time! Any children with specific dietary requirements are provided with food suitable for them, but normally, fruit and/or biscuits are served at this time.
10.30am – This free play time, the children can choose what they would like to do, whether that’s playing with the toys, computers or even singing and dancing in the middle of the room as some of our children do!
11am – 12.30pm – Lunch is served! Every day is varied so children aren’t always eating the same thing. This includes jacket potatoes, lasagne, fish fingers. It’s always served with vegetables too and they’re encouraged to eat them! But after all, they are children!
12.30pm – 3pm Having had a full day of playing and learning, the final hours in some nurseries include story and nap time. This is a quiet time when children and staff can relax and take a little break from the active nature of nursery nursing.
3pm – Snack time, children grab a drink and some biscuits or fruit. Some are tired by now so this is often quite a relaxed time.
3.30pm – 4.30pm Pre-schoolers would be allowed to play with blocks, playdough, computers at this time. It’s usually the room leader’s choice of activity.
4.30pm – 6pm – Small tea is served as parents or guardians come to collect the children.
Throughout the day, it’s also worth mentioning that children are provided with any medication they need at the required times. Parents will have made the nursery aware of this.
That’s it! It’s a busy day full of fun activities which helps children learn. The biggest reward in the role is seeing the development of the children through the year or more that they attend.
If you’re looking for a nursery role in your area, check out our latest early years jobs.
