Level 3 Early Years Practitioner - SEMH School - East Surrey, Mole Valley
£25,000 - £28,000 per annum
Permanent Contract
ASAP start
*** Interviews are arranged ASAP ***
Most Early Years roles ask a lot of you and give you very little in return. You pour yourself into each child, navigate pressure from above, and often feel like the environment was never designed with either you or the children in mind. This role is different and I want to explain exactly why.
I am recruiting for a Level 3 Early Years Practitioner role at a specialist school in Surrey that works exclusively with children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. Many of these children carry the weight of developmental trauma, attachment difficulties, and emotional dysregulation that mainstream settings simply are not equipped to hold. This school is. And it is looking for someone who genuinely wants to be part of that work.
The School
This is an independent specialist school for children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), supporting primary-age pupils whose primary area of need is SEMH. The school follows a trauma-informed model grounded in neuroscience and attachment theory. PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) runs through everything they do, from how staff respond to a child in crisis to how the school day itself is structured.
What makes this school stand out is the depth of therapeutic support embedded into everyday school life. Children have access to play therapy, occupational therapy with individual OT plans, speech and language therapy integrated directly into the curriculum, educational psychology with a specialism in developmental trauma, and mentoring and wilderness therapy. These are not services that children are referred to and wait months for. They are part of the school's daily fabric, and as an Early Years Practitioner here, you will work alongside this team.
The Children You Will Be Working With
The children in this setting have often experienced significant adversity. Some have been through the care system, some carry the effects of early neglect or trauma, and many have struggled considerably in previous educational placements. Their needs can present as emotional outbursts, withdrawal, difficulty trusting adults, sensory dysregulation, or communication differences.
I want to be honest with you: this is not an easy environment to work in. There will be days when a child is deeply distressed, and you will need to stay regulated, grounded, and present even when that is hard. Co-regulation, helping a child find calm by being calm yourself, is at the heart of the daily work here. If you have experience supporting children through difficult moments and you find that meaningful rather than draining, that is a strong sign this role is right for you.
What the Role Involves
- Supporting the early years learning environment in line with the school's needs-based, EYFS-informed curriculum
- Working 1:1 and in small groups with children, adapting your approach to each child's individual EHCP targets
- Contributing to observations, assessments, and progress notes
- Working closely with the in-house therapy team to embed therapeutic strategies into daily interactions
- Supporting sensory regulation needs, strategies from occupational therapy are woven into the school day
- Helping children build trust, develop early independence, and experience consistency from the adults around them
- Taking part in regular clinical supervision and CPD, this school genuinely invests in its staff
Who Genuinely Thrives in This Role
You do not have to come from a traditional early years background. Some of the best people in roles like this have come from quite different backgrounds. What matters far more than your previous job title is who you are and why you want to do this work.
You are likely to thrive here if you:
- Hold a Level 3 Early Years qualification (or equivalent)
- Have worked with children who display challenging or distressed behaviour, and you understand that behaviour is communication
- Are patient, warm, and emotionally resilient; able to hold a boundary with a child while still making them feel safe
- Are curious about why children behave the way they do, not just how to manage it
- Can work well within a multi-disciplinary team and are genuinely open to learning
- Have an interest in or understanding of trauma-informed practice, attachment, or the PACE approach
Backgrounds I would especially welcome include: nursery or EYFS practitioners ready for something more purposeful; children's residential support workers; play workers; family support workers; CAMHS support workers; and psychology or childhood studies graduates with relevant placement experience. If you have supported non-verbal or highly dysregulated children, I would very much like to hear from you.
Reality
Working with children who have experienced trauma requires you to be emotionally available, consistent, and self-aware. There will be sessions where a child refuses to engage, moments of dysregulation that take a lot from you, and days when progress is almost invisible. The school provides strong clinical supervision and a genuinely supportive staff culture precisely because they understand that reality. But if you are looking for something predictable or straightforward, this is not it.
If, on the other hand, you are someone who finds real meaning in supporting a child that others have struggled to reach, and you want to do that in a setting that gives you the tools and backing to do it well, then I would really like to speak with you.
If this sounds like the right next step for you, apply now or contact Heeji Moon at Parker Smith Inclusion.