Lunch Cover Assistant

Application Deadline

Monday, July 13, 2026

Location

Exeter, EX2 7XE

Salary

£12.86 per hour

Positions Available

Hours per week

Job Summary

We’re looking for a Lunch Cover Assistant committed to supporting children’s growth and learning, to join our Happy Days Nursery in Exeter!

Our Lunch Cover Assistant will work 20 hours per week, Monday to Friday (all year round) over our busy lunch time.

About the role

As a Lunch Cover Assistant, you will:

• Play a vital role in helping us inspire the future for our children, offering the very best care and education using our unique curriculum “Where Children Shine”.
• Be responsible for providing a safe, supportive and enriching environment that fosters children’s development and well-being, particularly over the busy lunchtime period.
• Be an integral part of our children’s daily routines and you will support the staff team with lunch times, sleep times and supporting learning activities.
• Juggle many different tasks as part of the role, working closely with the staff team to ensure that our children’s day is kept consistent, through a confident, positive and honest approach.
• Support children during their mealtime and following all policies and procedures to keep our children safe and keep to all allergies and special dietary requirements
• Have a good understanding of how to best safeguard our children and families.

About you

We're looking for Early Years Practitioners, preferably qualified to Level 2, who:

• Have experience with child development and learning and are committed to children’s emotional and intellectual growth
• Communicate confidently, professionally and work collaboratively
• Work in a way that is inclusive and creates a supportive, respectful environment
• Are reflective and committed to professional growth
• Can easily commute to multiple nursery sites within a one-hour radius

And a few nice to haves:

• Paediatric First Aid certification.
• Experience supporting children with additional needs.
• Familiarity with digital learning journals or nursery software.

Rewarding careers

We’re committed to nurturing talent and supporting career progression into nursery management roles. Through tailored development plans, mentoring from experienced leaders, and access to accredited training programmes, we empower our team members to grow their leadership skills and take the next step in their careers.

We welcome applicants from under-represented groups including men and offer a competitive range of benefits that aren’t just perks—they are part of a culture that puts people first. They support us build a workplace where you’re empowered to thrive every day and where you’ll feel valued.

We're building a workplace where our colleagues thrive

We offer a range of meaningful benefits designed to support your wellbeing, professional growth, and work-life balance. Our benefits aren’t just perks—they’re part of a culture that puts people first and we continue to build our range of benefits designed to support health, wellbeing and the odd treat here and there…these include:

• up to £12.86 per hour
• Pension & Life Assurance*
• Funded Blue Light Card Membership
• In addition to 20 days Annual Leave (plus Bank Holidays) , up to an additional four gifted days off during Christmas closedown
• An additional day each year to celebrate something personal to you*
• Funded DBS Update Service
• Access to digital GP 24/7
• On demand counselling services
• Extensive Health and Wellbeing services through the SPARK APP
• Recognition and celebration for Long Service

• Subject to eligibility criteria

Safeguarding commitment

Happy Days Nurseries are committed to the safety and wellbeing of the children in our care. All successful candidates will undergo the required vetting process.

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