Early Years Practitioner CV Example & Writing Tips for 2025

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How to write an Early Years Practitioner CV

How’s a full guide on writing a CV for UK-based Early Years Practitioner jobs:

1. Showcase your Early Years Practitioner qualifications

To work as an Early Years Practitioner in the UK, you’ll typically need a recognised Level 3 childcare qualification, but the exact requirements vary by nation:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England: You must hold a qualification recognised as full and relevant by the Department for Education (e.g., NCFE CACHE Level 3 Diploma for Working in the Early Years Sector (Early Years Educator))

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland: Qualifications must be approved by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), such as the SVQ Level 3 Social Services (Children and Young People)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales: Qualifications must be listed on the Social Care Wales approved list (e.g., Level 3 Diploma in Children’s Care, Play, Learning and Development)

🪉 Northern Ireland: Qualifications must meet standards set by the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department of Health, such as the QCF Level 3 Diploma in Children’s Care, Learning and Development

Include these qualifications in either your CV’s education section (or qualifications section if you have one), and make sure this section is prominently displayed so employers can immediately see you’re qualified. For example, place it at the top of the first page of your CV.

Here’s how:

Education
SVQ Level 3 Social Services (Children and Young People)
Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) — Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland
Completed: July 20XX

2. Highlight your understanding of national early years frameworks

No matter where you’re applying for a nursery job in the Home Nations, employers want to see that you understand and can apply the relevant national curriculum for early childhood education.

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 In England, that means the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 In Scotland, it’s the Curriculum for Excellence (especially the early level)
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 In Wales, the Curriculum for Wales and Foundation Phase framework apply
• 🪉 In Northern Ireland, it’s the Early Years Foundation Stage under the Northern Ireland Curriculum

Tailor your CV to your specific national framework by showing how you support learning and development  — whether that’s developing literacy skills, supporting emotional wellbeing, or encouraging physical play.

And, make sure to include references to key EYFS principles in your CV. This helps you stand out as a well-informed, compliant, and capable practitioner who hiring managers will want to interview.

Here’s a work experience bullet point that shows you understand the early years framework of the country you’re applying for (this example is for England):

• Planned and delivered activities supporting all seven areas of learning within the EYFS framework, leading to measurable improvements in communication and literacy skills

You can also list skills like EYFS curriculum planning, developmental observation, and early learning assessment in your CV’s skills section.

3. Emphasise experience with safeguarding and child protection

Safeguarding is essential in any childcare role. Employers need to know you’re not only DBS-checked but also able to recognise and respond to concerns about a child’s welfare.

However, don’t just list ‘safeguarding’ under your skills. Since this is such a vital element of the job, go further: Highlight any training you’ve done like this:

Education

• Level 2 Safeguarding and Child Protection, EduCare (20XX)

You’ll impress employers if you show practical awareness of safeguarding policies, knowledge of referral procedures, and experience handling sensitive situations with discretion.

4. Show how you support learning through play

Play is central to early childhood education. The best Early Years Practitioners know how to use play not just to entertain, but to teach.

Employers want to see that you can create purposeful, age-appropriate play activities that help children build confidence, explore the world, and reach developmental milestones.

Rather than simply stating that you ‘played with children’ on your CV, explain how you linked those activities to learning outcomes.

Here’s a CV personal statement that highlights your ability to both play and teach children simultaneously:

CV personal statement
Combine child-led and structured play to create joyful, curiosity-driven learning experiences. Support key early skills in communication, literacy, numeracy, and social development. Aim to foster a safe, inclusive environment where children feel confident, independent, and eager to learn.

Support the claims you make here with a bullet point in your experience section:

• Designed sensory play stations that encouraged exploration and supported early maths and language development

5. Reference Ofsted-ready documentation and record-keeping

Ofsted inspectors — and nursery managers — will expect you to keep accurate, up-to-date records, including learning journals, accident forms, nappy charts, or safeguarding logs.

Use your CV to show you’ve taken ownership of documentation responsibilities and understand how these records support children’s learning, safety, and compliance to prove to headteachers you’d be prepared and reflect well on your school at an unannounced Ofsted inspection.

Here’s a bullet point that shows you’ve effectively maintained Ofsted readiness at all times:

• Maintained detailed, GDPR-compliant learning journals for a key group of children, contributing to a successful Ofsted inspection in March 20XX

And here are some skills you can add to your key skills section to show that Ofsted readiness is something you’re competent at:

KEY SKILLS

• Observation and assessment
• Learning journal management
• Ofsted compliance

Early Years Practitioner job outlook in 2025 — things to know

According to the UK Earnings Explorer provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Early Years Practitioners in the UK earn an average annual salary of £16,276.

You can find information about the gender pay gap for Early Years Practitioners on the ONS’ website.

Data source: The Office for National Statistics, an agency of His Majesty’s Government. The information contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 and reflects the ONS’s most recent salary (1/11/2023), gender pay gap (4/2023), and skills shortage data (6/2022).

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