Job Description

Charters Nursery, part of One YMCA and located within the picturesque grounds of Leavesden Country Park, is seeking passionate and experienced Level 2 Early Years Practitioners to join our vibrant and dedicated team. Our nursery offers a high-quality early years education in a fun, nurturing, and inclusive environment, with a strong emphasis on outdoor learning.



We believe that early childhood is a critical foundation for lifelong learning. At Charters Nursery, children are encouraged to explore, develop, and grow at their own pace, supported by caring and enthusiastic adults who help them become confident, curious, and independent individuals.



Key Responsibilities:

Work collaboratively as part of the nursery team to create a safe, stimulating, and caring environment that supports the holistic development of every child. Use creativity and initiative to plan and deliver engaging, age-appropriate activities. Act as a keyworker for allocated children, observing, assessing, and supporting their learning and development. Build strong, positive relationships with parents and carers, encouraging their engagement and involvement in their child's learning journey. Contribute to the achievement of team goals and individual performance objectives.


What We Offer:

A welcoming and supportive team environment. Opportunities for ongoing training and professional development. A beautiful outdoor setting that promotes exploration and nature-based learning.


If you are committed to providing exceptional care and education and want to be part of a nursery that values creativity, inclusivity, and child-led learning, we'd love to hear from you!



At One YMCA we are an inclusive organisation and actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We do not discriminate on the basis of Age, Disability, Gender Reassignment, Marriage/Civil Partnership, Pregnancy/Maternity, Race, Religion/Belief, Sex and/or Sexual Orientation. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities, and industries, and are committed to having a team that is made up of diverse skills, experiences, and abilities.

This is a Full Time role.

Hours per week: 37.5

Working Pattern: 7.5 Hour Shifts, 5 days, Monday - Friday between the hours of 7.30am - 6.30pm



One YMCA and its subsidiaries, the Early Childhood Partnership (ECP) and Signpost are on an exciting journey to double our impact by 2025. We are over half way through an exciting new strategy launched in the first hour of the new decade, via email where all staff and volunteers were invited to put themselves forward to apply and attend an intensive, three-day Kickstarter Event.


By the end of these three days, there was a brilliantly multi-faceted set of themes and ideas, which formed the starting point for the rest of the Mission 25 process to build on. The aim of Mission 25 is to give every staff member and volunteer the opportunity to play their part in shaping the strategy to do "more and better, together" so that we double our impact by 2025. We deliver a vast array of services across Herts, Beds and Bucks that reach over 135,000 individuals annually.


These include:

Provision of over 700 units of accommodation for homeless people Move on accommodation for individuals moving onto independent living Housing and practical/emotional support for young asylum seekers Community HUBs hosting a range of activities and meeting space hire Childcare provision in Hertfordshire Family support through a network of children's and family centres covering Hertfordshire and Bedford Therapeutic and non-therapeutic support for male and female victims of domestic abuse and their children Independent sexual violence services across Bedfordshire, Luton and Hertfordshire Domestic abuse perpetrator reform programmes across Bedfordshire Youth services offering emotional wellbeing support and youth club opportunities for 11-19 year olds alongside our National Airplay programme funded by the RAF Benevolent Fund * A community gym where everyone can enjoy the benefits of physical exercise Our values remain at the forefront of how we operate as a charity, and it is important to us that all staff and volunteers can fully buy in to our ethos.