Your workplace could be an old farmhouse in the Dorset countryside.
Not a converted office.
Not a row of rooms above a shopping parade.
An actual farmhouse, surrounded by countryside, with enough outdoor space for children to properly disappear into their play.
Tiny Tots Recruitment is looking for a Level 3 Nursery Practitioner near Blandford Forum to join a rural early years setting in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The nursery describes itself as a home-from-home environment, with natural resources indoors and a particularly strong connection with the outdoors. Children have access to a large main garden, dedicated forest area and all-weather AstroTurf space for year-round active play.
If you're happiest when children's learning gets a little muddy, this should be on your radar.
What kind of practitioner works well here?
Probably not someone who wants to stand at the edge of the room supervising activities they've set up for everybody else.
The approach here is much more about being part of children's experiences.
You'll be:
Building secure relationships with your key children Creating play-based experiences around children's interests Observing development and recognising useful next steps Supporting children across the EYFS Using everyday routines as opportunities for learning Encouraging independence, confidence and resilience Supporting children's physical and emotional wellbeing Making regular use of the outdoor environment Working closely with parents and carers Keeping children's learning records purposeful and up to date Maintaining strong safeguarding practice Working alongside other qualified educators as part of the nursery team
The setting cares for children from around six weeks to five years, so there's also scope to build experience across the full early years age range rather than becoming stuck with one age group indefinitely.
The outdoors isn't just there for the brochure
This is probably the bit I'd sell hardest to candidates.
The nursery is at Hyde Farm in Pimperne, just outside Blandford Forum, and its physical environment genuinely supports outdoor practice.
There is:
A dedicated forest garden For nature-based exploration and learning.
A substantial main garden Giving children space for free movement and larger-scale play.
An all-weather AstroTurf area So physical play doesn't disappear every time the Dorset weather turns.
A rural setting While still being only minutes from Blandford Forum.
For a practitioner who feels boxed in by a small nursery garden, that's a meaningful difference to the working day.
And then there's the employment package
The wider employer package is one of the stronger ones we've come across:
£27,664 to £29,120 per year Permanent, full-time role Monday to Friday £1,000 welcome bonus Performance-related bonus 50% childcare discount Enhanced holiday entitlement Paid sick leave An additional annual wellness day Enhanced maternity leave Compassionate leave Access to salary before payday through PayCaptain Vitality and Peppy wellbeing support Fertility and menopause support Gym discounts Free cinema tickets Ongoing learning and development Financial wellbeing tools Access to the employer's staff support fund Termly inset days Internal employee recognition awards
That £1,000 welcome bonus is especially useful here because this isn't a tiny incentive buried in the small print. It's being actively advertised for recruitment at this particular nursery.
The qualification bit
This vacancy is best aimed at somebody holding a full and relevant Level 3 Early Years qualification.
You'll ideally also have:
Experience working with children under five Good knowledge of the EYFS Strong safeguarding awareness Confidence communicating with families A collaborative approach Plenty of enthusiasm for outdoor and play-based learning
You don't need to arrive knowing everything.
You do need to want to keep learning.
The wider organisation has a strong development focus and describes its aim as allowing practitioners to concentrate on understanding children while continuing to develop their own careers.
If you're looking for a Level 3 Nursery Practitioner job in Blandford Forum, an Early Years Educator job in Dorset or a nursery role where forest and outdoor learning are genuinely part of everyday practice, we'd love to hear from you.
Apply today through Tiny Tots Recruitment for a confidential conversation about the opportunity.