Employer profile: Bright Horizons, a leading early years and childcare provider
You can train with Bright Horizons to get your Level 3 Early Years Educator qualification
Nurseries and preschools provide care and education for children up to the age of five, but what is it like to work for one? In this guide, you’ll learn all about working at Bright Horizons, what apprenticeship opportunities are available, and how to apply.
Bright Horizons at a glance:
| Founded | 1986 |
| Locations | 300+ nurseries and preschools |
| Employees | Over 7,000 across the UK |
| Career sectors | Schools |
| Post-school pathways options | We offer an Early Years Apprenticeship programme. |
| Jobs you might not expect | SEND Specialist, Nursery Chef, Safeguarding Consultant, Health and Safety Advisor, and Early Childhood Specialist |
Mollie Drew, who is a Talent Acquisition Lead, tells us what it’s really like to work for Bright Horizons.
What does Bright Horizons do?
Bright Horizons is a leading provider of childcare and early childhood education across the UK. We look after over 30,000 children aged from three months to five years old at our centres. 95% of our nurseries are rated either ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.
We also have our own charity called ‘Foundation for Children’ which creates ‘Bright Spaces’ in communities across the UK. These are places where vulnerable children who've been impacted by domestic violence, abuse, homelessness, parental imprisonment, or ill health, can play, relax, and receive the support that they need.
Where is Bright Horizons based?
Our headquarters is in Northampton, but we have over 300 nurseries and preschools across the UK. Springfield Lodge nursery in Kent is our biggest nursery with 175 places, while Beacon Road nursery in London is our smallest nursery with 30 places.
We have over 7,000 early education staff across our nurseries and preschools. We also have over 500 support staff in finance, marketing, HR, and our IT teams, who are based at our headquarters in Northampton, and our offices in Manchester, and London.
Our nurseries are typically open between 7.30am and 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, with a variety of different shift patterns.
What are some of the most common roles at Bright Horizons?
Our nurseries need lots of staff to make them work, including nursery assistants, room leaders, chefs, and Early Years teachers. But our most common role is nursery practitioner.
Our nursery practitioners are responsible for developing activities to support our children to develop their core life skills, and look forward to starting school with confidence.
They’re responsible for teaching children the seven key areas of learning:
- language and communication
- physical
- personal, social, and emotional development
- literacy
- expressive arts and design
- mathematics, and
- understanding the world.
The types of activity a nursery practitioner delivers changes depending on each child’s age, as well as their individual milestone stage. They work closely with parents and carers to provide support and advice when needed.
What is the most common entry-level role at Bright Horizons?
Our most common entry level role is our Early Years Apprenticeship. In this role, you’ll be working as part of a nursery team looking after babies and children up to the age of five, and you’ll be running activities related to play, arts and crafts, cooking, and reading.
If you complete the programme, you’ll receive a Level 3 Early Years Educator qualification, which is the most common qualification for nursery practitioners in the UK. This takes about 18 months to complete, and is delivered through both classroom-based learning and on-the-job training.
How can someone join Bright Horizons at entry-level?
To join our Early Years Apprenticeship programme, you’ll need GCSEs in maths and English at grade 4/C or above or equivalent. If you don’t have these, we can support you to complete a Functional Skills qualification alongside your apprenticeship.
What skills do you look for in applicants for entry-level roles?
We’re looking for people with a genuine interest in children’s education and wellbeing. People who want to make a real difference in children’s lives!
We’re also looking for people who are good communicators, empathetic, understanding, and who want to get stuck in and learn.
Does Bright Horizons offer work experience opportunities?
Bright Horizons welcomes students to complete work experience in our settings. To complete your work placement, you must have finished Year 11 and be 16 or over. If you're interested in learning more about our Student Placement programme, please email studentplacements@brighthorizons.com.
What can students be doing right now to build their experience?
Get a part-time job where you work with children to see if this is a career that you’d enjoy. You could babysit for your neighbours, become an assistant sports coach, or get some work experience helping out at a local playgroup.