Supply Early Year Practitioner

Overview

The Erskine Stewart Melville Schools are recruiting for two Early Years Practitioners to join the Nursery on a casual basis from April 2026 (subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks). The hours offered will vary from week to week on a supply basis at the sole discretion of the school. This is a term-time only position with days of work ranging from Monday to Friday.

Remuneration is dependant on skills and experience, at an hourly rate ranging from £14.97 to £16.29.

• Deliver a high quality, child-centred service which meets the needs of our children and their families.
• Plan and implement a curricular program, observe and interact with children to support their learning, and participate in team work across the Nursery.

• Successful candidates will be kind, enthusiastic, and responsible individuals who prioritise the interests of children and work well within a team.
• Experience working with children and possession of a recognised childcare qualification.
• Strong organisational skills.

To learn more about this role, please access the job description provided.

ESMS is unable to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. International applicants will therefore be unable to apply for and secure a Skilled Worker visa. The successful candidate will only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.

• Staff are offered a range of benefits including: a generous holiday allowance, enhanced sick pay, family friendly policies, use of the Schools’ swimming pool and fitness room outside school hours, membership of the ESMS Discount and Benefits Scheme, including a range of discounts at 130,000 retail and entertainment locations.
• Fee remission from Nursery to S6
• Free school lunches
• Free Sports’ Club membership, including access to pool and fitness suites
• Generous holiday allowance
• Generous pension
• Death in service benefit
• Family friendly policies, including enhanced maternity leave
• Membership of the ESMS Discount and Benefits Scheme, including a range of discounts at 130,000 retail and entertainment locations
• Employee Assistance Service
• Cycle to work scheme
• Car leasing salary sacrifice scheme
• Annual professional review process
• Regular salary reviews
• Funding towards professional qualifications

Welcome to the ESMS, a vibrant family of independent schools, set in beautiful grounds in the heart of Edinburgh. We offer a co-educational nursery and junior school, single-sex but closely twinned secondary education, and a co-educational sixth form.

We are a consistently award-winning School, with an educational legacy that stretches back more than 300 years. Our Schools have always been pioneers of rounded education. Children’s education is underpinned by our values: kindness, confidence, resilience, integrity and curiosity. From virtual reality headsets in the classroom to developing one of the first outdoor learning programmes in Scotland, we are always searching for new ways to develop the whole child.

The people that work for us are passionate, pioneering and strive for excellence in everything they do. We value the incredible contributions they make to school life, we invest in their careers and we support their ambitions so that they flourish professionally and personally.

Benefits

Employees get access to a range of benefits including:

• Fee remission from Nursery to S6
• Free school lunches
• Free Sports’ Club membership, including access to pool and fitness suites
• Generous holiday allowance
• Generous pension
• Death in service benefit
• Family friendly policies, including enhanced maternity leave
• Membership of the ESMS Discount and Benefits Scheme, including a range of discounts at 130,000 retail and entertainment locations
• Employee Assistance Service
• Cycle to work scheme
• Car leasing salary sacrifice scheme
• Annual professional review process
• Regular salary reviews
• Funding towards professional qualifications

Enquiries about this position should be directed to the HR Team at

The closing date for the position is Wednesday 25 March  anticipate interviews will commence shortly after.