London Institute of Early Years
Learn from leaders in Early Years.
We value our people
Our teams work hard, and in return we reward and support you and your professional development with an outstanding package of benefits.
Flexible working
We provide a range of shift patterns to fit with your lifestyle. Visit our Flexible working page to find out more about our flexible approach.
Grow with us
LEYF salaries are competitive in the sector and our award-winning training means there is plenty of opportunity to progress and jump to the next salary band. Every person is entitled to 8 days’ paid training every year.
Having a family
Enhanced parental leave
Mums and dads are valued at LEYF. We offer enhanced maternity or adoption leave and paid time off for dad’s too.
Nursery discount
We offer a sector-leading 70% discount on nursery fees to all permanent employees if you would like your child to join one of our nurseries. That could save you up to £16,000 a year on nursery fees. If there isn’t a space at your nursery, we’ll prioritise your child at another nearby LEYF nursery.
Getting together
Celebrating Ofsted
Every nursery that receives an Outstanding or Good Ofsted award gets £50 a head for a team celebration, on us!
Christmas parties and annual conference
Each team receives £25 per head to celebrate the end of the year together, and each summer we hold an annual conference where we all enjoy a day of fun, inspiration and connection with other teams.
LEYF’s annual conference is a chance for all our teams to come together and celebrate the year’s achievements
Annual leave
Holiday
Everyone works hard at LEYF and we offer up to 26 days’ annual leave per year, including 3 days over the Christmas break. Nurseries are closed on bank holidays.
Birthday leave
All permanent full-time and part-time employees are given an additional day of annual leave to celebrate their birthday.
Holiday buy and sell scheme
You can buy up to 5 additional days of annual leave, or sell up to 8 days’ holiday.
Support for the future
Generous pension
Our pension is one of the best in the sector. We know it is not easy to save for your retirement, so we help you by contributing 7% into your pension while you contribute just 1% – this is tax-free too. So, when you pay in 80p, your pension grows by £8 because of LEYF’s contribution and tax relief!
Death in Service life insurance
We provide life insurance of 3 times your salary (or a fixed sum if you are over 70-75) for all permanent employees if you pass away while employed at LEYF. This will be paid out to your family or someone else if you have asked us.
Helping you just a little bit more
Season ticket loan
You can borrow the money interest-free to buy an annual season ticket and pay us back monthly.
Your discount portal
When you join our Employee Purchase Programme, you will receive discounts on purchases from high street brands such as Sainsbury’s, Currys and Apple.
Wellbeing App
When you join LEYF, you get free access to our wellbeing app. This helps you create life-changing habits to support your mental health and find a healthier, happier you.
24 hour support helpline
Our Employee Assistance Programme is FREE to support you during difficult times.
Support and counselling for home-life issues – Specialist support for challenges such as a relationship breakdown, bereavement or infertility.
Support and counselling for work-related issues – Specialist telephone support for issues related to work.
Financial and legal – Our qualified legal professionals provide specialist support on a range of personal issues.
Support for managers – A support service for managers dealing with important and challenging people management issues.
Fast access – You can access support via email.
