We’re a large charitable nursery organisation with a big heart and every penny we make goes straight back to the children and our people, never to shareholders or owners. That means when you join us, you’re part of something bigger: giving every child the best start in life. And that starts with hiring brilliant people like you.
At LEYF, we want you to do well, so here’s what to expect from our recruitment process when you apply for one of our nursery and Early Years roles.
1. Find the right LEYF role for you
Search for roles by job title or location on our vacancies page, or call our lovely recruitment team who are on hand to support.
There are some things for you to think about:
- Are you based in or around London? We have over 40 nurseries across 13 boroughs, so it’s likely that at least one of our nurseries will be close or commutable for you.
- Are you already qualified or not? If yes, you can apply for our Teacher, Room Manager, Deputy, Manager or Chef roles. If you aren’t qualified, we have many roles for Lunchtime or Early Years Assistants, Housekeepers and Administrators. There is also the option to apply to our Apprenticeship programme, so you can get qualified.
2. Apply with confidence and ease
We’ve designed our application process to be as short and clear as possible, so you can take your time and have your application reflect you in the best way.
Top tip: Call out your qualification in the application too and at the top of your attached CV. Keep it real and professional. We love hearing about you.
Key information about applying for LEYF jobs
- We don’t currently sponsor visas, so you will need the right to work in the UK.
- For our Teacher and Leader roles, you will need a full and relevant qualification. Not quite sure if you have this? Call us and we can help.
- Every single application is read by one of our recruitment team. They will get back to you within 3 days of applying, if not sooner.
- Please don’t write your application with AI, we can tell! We want your CV to be personal and honest.
3. First-stage LEYF phone interview
If your application shines, we will email or call you to invite you to chat with one of our Recruiters.
It’s a 15–30 minute phone interview, but in a relaxed style. Leader interviews could take up to 45 minutes.
What questions will I be asked in a LEYF interview?
We will ask about:
- Your motivation for the role
- What you know about LEYF
- Your experience and qualifications
- Why you like working with children
- Your salary expectation
- Your expected commute
If you are interviewing for a Teacher or Leader role, we will ask some key questions for the role, such as safeguarding or child development. There may be a competency-based question, but remember, we want you to do well!
Our top tip: Be keen, warm and positive. We love getting to know you. You are able to ask us questions here to find out if we are a good fit for you too, so be ready with some questions you’d like to ask.
4. Final LEYF interview
If everything went great on the phone, the Recruiters’ job is to share your details with the nursery and find a time that suits everyone to meet you.
Usually this will be within a few days of your first-stage phone interview. We like to move the process on quickly!
What happens at a LEYF final interview?
- The final interview is always in person, so you get to see the nursery. Our people at LEYF are friendly and welcoming and, if time allows, they will try to give you a tour of the nursery. You will usually be interviewed by two nursery employees, such as the Manager and Deputy.
- Our interviews usually last around an hour and, depending on the role, you’ll be asked to do an exercise with the children in the room to see how you engage with children and others.
- The interview questions you’ll be asked will focus on your motivation for the role, LEYF and working with children. As we take safeguarding incredibly seriously, we will ask you questions about how to keep children safe.
- We always ask competency questions too, as we are keen to find out whether you have key skills such as teamwork and adaptability. Make sure that you include the outcome or result of what you achieved in your examples!
- We seek out people who love to learn, work in a busy team and want to give children the best start in life. If you are qualified, you are knowledgeable about child development and warmly passionate about quality.
- No need to dress up, but do attend your interview looking neat and ready. A well-presented appearance shows you’re professional and keen.
5. What happens after your final LEYF interview?
One of our Recruiters will call or email you within a couple of days to let you know if you have been offered a role.
We hope to offer everyone who interviews, but this isn’t always possible. Whatever happens, we want you to enjoy the experience with LEYF and we will always be happy to provide you with feedback.
6. LEYF compliance and pre-employment checks
If you are offered a role with us, we will move as fast as you can onto our important compliance checks. These are compulsory for all employees to help keep our children and employees safe and tend to take around 2 weeks in total.
We will need a reference from your current employer, as well as one from your previous employer, but we won’t contact them until you’re ready for us to.
We’ll also ask for you to add your details to our online portal so we can get your qualifications, DBS and employment dates checked.
Throughout the compliance process, we will be here to support you and we will connect you with your new Nursery Manager so you can start to build that relationship.
7. Joining LEYF
Once you have your start date, you’ll have both your nursery and LEYF Central Office induction.
Your Nursery Manager will support you through this stage and expect a warm welcome from everyone you meet.
Our Apprenticeship programme
We recruit 3–4 cohorts of Apprentices per year, which typically hold 25 students. Our applications are online and open all year around, meaning that you can apply for our next cohort sooner rather than later.
Even when we aren’t running interviews for the next cohort, we will contact you about our next cohort to ensure that you’re ready to interview when it’s time.
As we know that our Apprentices are the next generation of Teachers in the Early Years sector, we have a dedicated Apprenticeship Academy, Recruiter and team to take you through all of your studies.
We have support Apprentices to flourish, get qualified and reach Deputy Manager roles – which is much quicker than not going through an in-house Apprenticeship programme.
The LEYF Apprenticeship recruitment process
1. Pre-screen phone call
You’ll have a pre-screen phone call with our dedicated Apprentice Recruiter, which will last around 20 minutes.
2. Apprenticeship assessment centre
If successful, you will be invited to an assessment centre at our Academy where we will be looking for your motivation to work in Early Years, a keenness to learn and the ability to achieve results in your study.
We’d also like to see your knowledge of safeguarding, child development and skills such as teamwork and adaptability.
3. Nursery work trial
If your assessment goes well, you will be asked to do a work trial, where you will be within a LEYF nursery for us to see your potential and for you to discover if it’s right for you.
4. Apprenticeship offer and compliance
If you pass all of the stages, you will be given an offer to start your Apprenticeship with us and we can start the compliance process.
5. Start your Apprenticeship
You will begin your 4 weeks of training in our Academy before your Apprenticeship starts.
You will be expected to complete your Apprenticeship course in 12–18 months, depending on our partner Apprenticeship provider and your ability to study and work.
Top tips for the LEYF recruitment process
- Show us your warmth and personality. Use the time to sell yourself, even if you’re a little nervous – we want to find out about you!
- Practise before your interview. It’s always a good idea to do practice interviews with friends and family beforehand to be confident in the structure of questions and interviews. We understand that interviews can be nerve-wrecking, so feeling confident in answering interview questions comes with practice.
- Ask lots of questions. Find out if LEYF and our setting is right for you. People at LEYF are approachable and supportive, so come ready with things you want to know.
- Use real examples. When answering competency questions, explain what you did and, importantly, the outcome or result.
Keep remembering, we at LEYF want you to do well and we do appreciate all efforts you make to consider us. Thank you!
Safer and inclusive recruitment at LEYF
We’re thorough, inclusive – and leading the way.
Every step of our recruitment process is built for safer recruitment because children’s safety comes first. We’re proud to be the sector leader in welcoming more men into childcare, and we champion diversity in every form, whether that’s age, ethnicity, or experience.
Our teams reflect the communities we serve, so it’s important that every child sees themselves represented.
Ready to join LEYF?
Ready to start your career in Early Years with LEYF?
Apply today so you can be one of our amazing LEYF team members making a difference to London’s children.