Nursery Practitioner
Permanent senior practitioner jobs
The step between practitioner and room leader. More responsibility for practice, including other people's, without full room accountability.
£28,500 to £32,000 outside London
Guide band for 2026. See how we work these out.
Senior practitioner is where most early years careers turn. It is the first role where you are judged on other people's practice as well as your own.
What the role involves
- Modelling practice for less experienced staff and new starters
- Taking the lead on planning within the room
- Deputising for the room leader
- Often holding a lead role: SENCo, safeguarding, or a curriculum area
What you will need
- Level 3 with two or more years in a nursery setting
- Evidence you have supported or mentored someone, formally or otherwise
- Confidence with parents in the difficult conversations, not just the handovers
Also advertised as: Senior Nursery Practitioner, Senior Early Years Practitioner. Settings use these titles more or less interchangeably, so search for all of them.
Where
Where we recruit this role
We place senior practitioner roles across the UK. These are the areas we cover most closely.
Questions
About this role
What does a senior practitioner earn?
Our 2026 guide puts this role at £28,500 to £32,000 outside London. Bands assume a 40-hour week and are built from the National Living Wage floor and the published sector median. The full method is on our salary guide.
Is this a permanent role?
Every role we place is permanent. Tiny Tots Recruitment does not run a temp desk and does not offer agency shifts.
What else is this job called?
You will also see it advertised as Senior Nursery Practitioner, Senior Early Years Practitioner. The qualification and the ratio requirements are the same whichever title a setting uses.
Related
Other roles we recruit
Room Leader
Running a room: the children in it, the staff in it, the ratio, the planning and the parents. The first genuinely managerial job in a nursery.
£29,000 to £33,500 outside London
About this roleNursery Nurse
The Level 3 role at the heart of every nursery. Key person to a group of children, responsible for their day, their development records and their families.
£27,000 to £30,500 outside London
About this roleEarly Years SENCo
The person responsible for how a setting identifies and supports children with additional needs. Usually a lead role held alongside practice.
£29,000 to £35,000 outside London, often as an allowance on practitioner pay
About this roleLooking for a senior practitioner role?
Register once and we will come to you when something fits. You will know the setting, the room and the pay before you decide whether to meet them, and your CV goes nowhere without your say-so.