Nursery Teacher CV Example
A nursery teacher CV highlights your qualified teacher status, expertise in early years pedagogy, and ability to create rich learning environments for young children.
Recommended template: Compact
Key Skills to Include
Quick Tips
- Include your QTS and any early years specialist qualifications.
- Highlight your approach to creating an engaging and inclusive learning environment.
- Detail assessment methods and how you track children's progress against EYFS goals.
- Showcase partnerships with parents and involvement in transition to primary school.
Ready to build your CV?
Start with the Compact template and customise it for your teaching & education role.
How to Write Your Nursery Teacher CV
A nursery teacher CV should demonstrate your qualified teacher status, your deep understanding of early years pedagogy, and your ability to create stimulating, inclusive learning environments. School leaders recruiting nursery teachers want to see evidence of strong EYFS outcomes, effective team leadership, and meaningful parent engagement. Your CV should present your qualifications, teaching approach, and measurable impact on children's learning and development.
CV Structure
Use a reverse-chronological format with a professional profile, work experience, education, and skills. Lead with your QTS status and early years specialism. For each role, describe the setting, class size, and your responsibilities. Include quantified achievements such as Good Level of Development percentages and specific programmes you have introduced. Keep to two pages.
CV Format
Choose a clean, professional template suitable for a teaching application. Avoid overly decorative designs. Ensure your QTS status and early years qualifications are immediately visible. Save as PDF.
CV Profile Examples
Experienced Nursery Teacher
QTS-qualified nursery teacher with seven years of experience leading nursery classes in primary school settings. Skilled in creating rich, play-based learning environments that promote curiosity, independence, and school readiness. Achieved consistently strong EYFS outcomes with 85% of children reaching a Good Level of Development. Experienced in leading the EYFS team, managing transition processes, and working with external agencies to support children with additional needs.
Nursery Teacher — SEN Specialism
Dedicated nursery teacher with QTS and a postgraduate diploma in Special Educational Needs, specialising in inclusive early years practice. Experienced in adapting the EYFS curriculum for children with a range of additional needs including autism spectrum condition, global developmental delay, and speech and language difficulties. Works closely with SENCOs, educational psychologists, and speech therapists to deliver individualised programmes within a mainstream nursery setting.
Newly Qualified Nursery Teacher
Passionate and creative newly qualified teacher with a BEd in Early Childhood Studies and QTS. Completed training placements in a school-based nursery and a maintained nursery school, developing expertise in phonics delivery, outdoor learning, and child-led investigation. Achieved outstanding placement grades with commendations for the quality of continuous provision and relationships with children and families.
State your QTS status, years of experience, and the age range you teach. Mention your strongest EYFS outcomes and any leadership responsibilities. Highlight your approach to early years practice in one sentence.
Key Skills for Your Nursery Teacher CV
Early Years Pedagogy
Applying research-informed approaches to early childhood education including play-based learning, sustained shared thinking, and child-led exploration.
Phonics Instruction
Delivering systematic synthetic phonics programmes to support early reading and writing development in the nursery setting.
Creative Curriculum Design
Designing a broad, rich curriculum that responds to children's interests, incorporates outdoor learning, and covers all EYFS areas.
Assessment for Learning
Using observation, formative assessment, and the EYFS profile to monitor children's progress and inform planning.
EYFS Planning
Creating weekly and termly plans that balance adult-led and child-initiated learning across the prime and specific areas.
Parent Engagement
Building strong home-school partnerships through workshops, home visits, and shared learning platforms such as Tapestry.
Safeguarding
Maintaining a thorough understanding of child protection procedures and acting as a role model for safeguarding practice in the early years team.
SEN Awareness
Identifying and supporting children with additional needs through adapted provision, individual plans, and multi-agency collaboration.
Outdoor Learning
Planning and facilitating outdoor learning experiences that develop children's physical skills, risk assessment, and connection with the natural world.
Work Experience Examples
For each role, describe the school context, class structure, and your teaching responsibilities. Include specific EYFS outcomes data such as GLD percentages and communication milestones. Detail any team leadership, parent engagement activities, and curriculum innovations. Include training placements as work experience if you are a newly qualified teacher.
Nursery Class Teacher
St Mary's Primary School, Oxford
Led the nursery class of 26 children (13 morning and 13 afternoon sessions) in a voluntary-aided primary school, responsible for all aspects of EYFS planning, assessment, and parent engagement.
Responsibilities
- Planned and delivered a play-based curriculum across all seven areas of the EYFS, incorporating adult-led teaching sessions, continuous provision, and child-initiated learning.
- Assessed children against the EYFS early learning goals, maintaining individual learning journals and writing detailed end-of-year reports for parents.
- Delivered daily phonics sessions using the Jolly Phonics programme, supporting early reading and writing development for the most able children.
- Led a team of two nursery nurses and one teaching assistant, directing their roles in the classroom and supporting their professional development.
- Managed the nursery admissions process, conducted home visits for new families, and led the transition programme into Reception class.
Achievements
- Achieved 85% of children reaching a Good Level of Development at the end of the nursery year, with particularly strong outcomes in communication and language.
- Introduced a forest school programme in the nursery garden that increased children's physical development outcomes by 15% and was commended in the school's Ofsted report.
- Established a parent workshop programme covering phonics, early maths, and supporting learning at home, with average attendance of 18 families per session.
EYFS Teacher (Training Placement)
Willowbrook Nursery School, Reading
Completed a 12-week teaching placement in a maintained nursery school as part of the BEd programme, teaching a class of 30 nursery-age children with support from two experienced practitioners.
Responsibilities
- Planned and taught focused activities in phonics, early mathematics, and creative arts, adapting for the wide developmental range in the class.
- Managed the continuous provision areas including the water tray, construction, role play, and mark-making, ensuring resources were stimulating and purposeful.
- Carried out observations using the school's observation toolkit and contributed to children's developmental profiles.
- Participated in parent consultations, sharing observations and discussing children's next steps with families.
Achievements
- Received an Outstanding grade for the placement, with the mentor noting exceptional skill in building relationships with children and creating engaging learning provocations.
- Designed a 'Minibeasts' investigation project that integrated all areas of the EYFS and was adopted as part of the school's curriculum plan for the following year.
Education & Qualifications
List your teaching qualification first — BEd, PGCE, or School Direct. Include QTS confirmation. Follow with any additional qualifications such as a PGDip in SEN, forest school leadership, or early years specialist training. Mention CPD in phonics programmes or specific pedagogies.
QTS
Qualified Teacher Status, required for teaching in maintained schools and nursery classes attached to schools.
BEd in Early Childhood Studies
An undergraduate degree combining academic study in child development with practical teacher training and QTS.
PGCE (Early Years)
A postgraduate teaching qualification with a specialism in early years education and the EYFS framework.
Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS)
A specialist status for graduates leading education in early years settings, equivalent to QTS in the early years sector.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a nursery teacher and a nursery nurse?
What EYFS outcomes should I include on my CV?
Should I mention outdoor learning on a nursery teacher CV?
How do I present parent engagement on my CV?
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