Nursery assistant CV example

A nursery assistant CV should show the age group you work with, what you do with the children each day and how you record and share their progress. Lead with your room and your key children, then your early years qualification, paediatric first aid and safeguarding training with their dates.

Creative design1 page

Nursery assistant CV example: fictional example, page 1. Full text is available below.

Read the example as text

Chloe Barnes

Nursery Assistant

Leicester · 07700 900152 · chloe.barnes@example.com

Profile

Nursery assistant with two years in a 60-place day nursery, working in the baby and toddler rooms. Plans play activities from what each child is interested in, keeps their learning journals up to date and talks parents through the day at pick-up. Holds a Level 2 early years qualification and paediatric first aid, and is studying the Level 3 Early Years Educator apprenticeship.

Experience

Nursery Assistant Wren Lane Day Nursery, Leicester · September 2024–present

Key person for five toddlers aged 18 months to two years: settling-in visits, learning journal observations and termly progress notes.

Plan and lead daily messy play, singing and story sessions around what the children are interested in that week.

Feed, change and settle babies to the routines their parents ask for, recording sleeps, feeds and nappies on the nursery app.

Write observations for the room leader's two-year progress checks.

Take part in weekly walks to the park and the library, and complete the room and garden safety checklist each morning.

Playworker (part time) Brookside After School Club, Leicester · 2022–2024

Ran crafts and outdoor games for up to 20 children aged 4 to 11 after school.

Qualifications and training

Early Years Educator Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship (studying, finishing 2027)

Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner (2024)

Paediatric First Aid, full course (2025)

Safeguarding children and food hygiene, Level 2 (2025)

GCSEs including English Language 5 and Mathematics 4 (2022)

Skills

Observations and learning journals

Feeding, nappy changing and sleep routines

Clear, friendly updates for parents

Makaton signs used in the toddler room

Additional information

Enhanced DBS certificate for work with children, on the DBS Update Service.

Fictional example for a nursery assistant. Every person and employer in it is invented. Replace every detail with your own.

What nurseries look for, and where this CV shows it

The job asks you to	Where this CV shows it
Plan and supervise activities like arts and crafts, music and cooking	Daily messy play, singing and story sessions planned from the children's interests
Help children to learn numeracy and language skills through games, singing and storytelling	Singing and stories in the toddler room, and Makaton signs
Take children on outings	Weekly walks to the park and the library
Feed and change babies	Feeding, changing and settling babies to their parents' routines
Keep indoor and outdoor areas clean and safe	The room and garden safety checklist each morning
Record children's development and share with parents, carers and nursery staff	Learning journals, notes for the two-year check and updates at pick-up

The left column follows the National Careers Service job profile for a nursery worker. If the advert you are answering describes a duty in other words, use its words for work you have actually done.

Inside this example

Profile: 63 words here
Experience: 134 words here
Qualifications and training: 47 words here
Skills: 26 words here
Additional information: 12 words here

How to write yours

Name the age group and room

Babies, toddlers and pre-school children need different things. Saying which rooms you have worked in tells a manager where you can start.

Show the key person role

Being a child's key person covers settling in, observations and parents. If you have done it, one bullet with how many children shows it.

Describe what you did with the children

“Messy play and stories planned from what the children were interested in” shows how you work better than listing the areas of the early years framework.

Date first aid and safeguarding

Nurseries check that paediatric first aid and safeguarding training are current. Put the year beside each.

Checks and qualifications to mention

Paediatric first aid. The National Careers Service says you need a paediatric first aid certificate to work in a nursery. Give the course and the year.
GCSEs. The National Careers Service says you'll usually need GCSEs in maths and English to start as a nursery assistant. Write the grades.
Apprenticeships. The Early Years Practitioner Level 2 and Early Years Educator Level 3 apprenticeships take one to two years, combining work and study (National Careers Service). If you are on one, give the level and when you finish.
Enhanced DBS check. Work with children needs an enhanced background check. If your certificate is on the DBS Update Service, say so. In Scotland the equivalent is PVG scheme membership; in Northern Ireland, an AccessNI check.

Keep it to one page. A nursery manager reads for age groups, qualifications and first aid; hobbies and school subjects that show none of these can go.

Help with your next edit

CV with No Experience: UK Structure and Examples CV Personal Statement Examples: 15 UK Examples to Adapt CV Skills: Lists by Job and How to Prove Each One How to Write a UK Cover Letter: Template and Example