One of the largest job sectors is the education sector, employing over 450,000 staff members, including a high number of nursery nurses
Most nursery nurses around £25,000 with nursery nurse managers having an average of £30,000. Having a qualification is key, with employers looking for a Level 3 Diploma in Early Years Education and Care – Early Years Educator or a T-level in Education.
Other entry routs include a level 3 nursery nurse apprenticeships. Employers during the recruitment process will check qualifications and experiences relevant to the role.
In the job interview, the interviewers will focus on skills and knowledge for the nursery nurse position.
Nursery Nurse Interview Questions
We have listed the most commonly asked nursery nurse interview questions and provided a breakdown of what the employer is looking to hear from an applicant.
In the main the nursery nurse interview will be structured, with each question being allocated a point – the highest scoring candidate will be offered the role.
To prepare for a job interview, it is also good to familiarise yourself with the generic commonly asked questions.
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
- Show experience level by discussing the duration in the industry
- State your highest level of nursery nurse qualification to highlight knowledge level
- Give examples of working with a particular cohort (SEND pupils) to reference your unique skills and experiences
This results in: Experience x Qualification x USP interview formula
What experience do you have working with children?
The ‘experience’ questions requires additional detail to the generic ‘about you’ question.
- Describe different vulnerable groups, age ranges, if the pupils had a disability – any specifics here works well, as a positive assumption is made when an applicant has direct experience with targeted leaners
- Talking about working with older age also helps, especially when you link the experience to the criteria of the nursery nurse job role
- Explain your knowledge of learning styles, how play is utilised in education and how to recongnise safeguarding concerns
Give me an example of when you had safeguarding concerns and what processes you followed?
What steps have you taken outside of work to develop yourself?
Employers, these days, are looking for staff who want to develop professionally. In the education sector increasing knowledge is very important as legislation changes on a regular basis.
To answer the CPD session it is good to describe the activities from any of the following four areas of learning:
- Volunteering
- Eventbrite sessions
- Academic reading
- Qualifications
Discuss the CPD opportunity, what you leant and how you can use the learning in the workplace.
Do you have any examples of when you have proactively involved a parent or carer in their child’s development?
A real-life example is a good way to explain the actions you took to support a parent. Tell the story by explaining the following 4 steps:
- Describe the situation – why was it needed for the parent to be involved?
- State the actions you took – how you engaged with the parent
- What barriers did you over?
- The positive outcome – how it supported the child
What would you do with a child who demonstrated challenging behavior?
There is a variety of challenging behavior when working with young people. Again, using a real-life example helps to highlight the skills you have to help a child with their behaviour.
- Describe the challenging behaviour
- Give context – was there a reason for this behaviour
- Discuss collaborative working with parents, child psychologist or social worker
- Discuss actions you took
- Describe the outcome
What would you do if you saw a colleague taking pictures on their phone of the children playing in the play area?
Safeguarding questions are very common in nursery nurse interviews. The NSPCC have a wealth of information that can be quoted in job interviews.
First state safeguarding regulations as this shows an understanding of the law and processes.
Next, explain the process of your current employer (reporting to manger, recording incidents, challenging colleagues) and safeguarding regulations.
The employer, here, is trying to understand your level of safeguarding knowledge.,
What is your understanding of OFSTED?
For all educational job interviews it is very important to be aware of the OFTSED inspection framework.
- State your awareness of the framework – ideally you will highly knowledgeable
- Discuss past inspections in previous roles
- Explain business as usual tasks that you complete adhering to OFSTED regulations
Why is health and safety deemed important?
When working with young child, the H&S interview question is from the perspective of the child not the work (as it is in other job sectors)
- Explain the importance of H&S awareness
- Discuss daily tasks you complete to ensure the safety of child – this could be as simple as removing dangerous/sharp objects or completing risk assessments for activities
- Discuss ‘risk’ in detail
What would you do if you heard a child or parent saying something racist?
Some nursery nurse workers find this situation difficult. Which is why employers ask challenging interview questions.
- Explain how you would challenge the comment
- Give an explanation on why the comment would need challenging
- Tell a story about a real-life example of dealing with a similar situation
Do you have any questions for me?
Always have questions prepared. As an example:
- How many nursery centers do you have?
- What training is available for new staff members?
- What is the projected intake of children over the next 3 years?
