Your work placement

What to expect, where to get support and how to make the most out of your Early Years work placement.

Get real-life experience with a work placement

At LEYF, we see work placements as more than just experience. They’re the start of a meaningful career in early years. Each year, we support over 40 students, building strong partnerships with colleges and universities and helping future educators take their first steps into the sector. 
 
Our placements are for students studying Level 2 or Level 3 early years qualifications. You’ll be based in one of our nurseries, working alongside experienced teachers and spending time directly with children. It’s a hands-on opportunity to see our pedagogy in practice, develop your skills, and understand what a career in early years really involves. 
 
For many students, a placement with LEYF becomes a fast track into a permanent teaching role. It’s a chance to get to know us while finding out if working in a nursery environment is right for you. We hope it is. 

Resources and guidance

Support for you at every step of your work placement journey:

Why choose a nursery setting?

Not sure what type of Early Years setting is right for you? Here's a breakdown of the benefits of choosing a nursery:

Find out more

How to ace your LEYF interview

Our Head of Recruitment shares a clear, honest guide to help you feel prepared and confident every step of the way.

Download now

Look no further than LEYF!

A placement at LEYF could be a perfect match for you. Here’s why:

  • All our 40+ nurseries are Ofsted-rated Oustanding or Good so your hands on experience will be in a high quality environment.
  • We have a really diverse bunch of people in our nurseries, we pride ourselves on this diversity to give a range of experiences to each other and the children.
  • We’ve been around for over 120 years and we move with the times, leading change in our sector. You’ll get to learn from excellent Teachers, Managers and expert support teams.
  • As a registered charity and social enterprise, we reinvest any profits back into our nurseries and our people. Over 75% of our nurseries are in the most deprived areas of London and most of our children are on funded places so you get to make a huge impact.
  • If you love it as much as we beLEYF you will, you could apply for a paid Bank or a part-time Assistant role as an Early Years Assistant to earn while you’re still learning, as long as you have the right to work in the UK. Our other workplacements are unpaid.
  • When you do your placement with us, we’ll fast-track you to interview if you’ve done well, meaning you have more of a chance of securing a permanent role at the end of your course!

Your path to landing a placement with LEYF

A step by step flow of the application process when applying for a work placement at LEYF

Whether you know what you want from our student hub, are still figuring it out, or have a question, please fill out the interest form below

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