Early Years’ Practitioner
(Part-Time)
From late August 2026
Applications are invited from suitably experienced, enthusiastic and committed Early Years Practitioners for the above post, which will be tenable from late August 2025. Should the successful candidate be able to begin before this time, this is likely to be accommodated.
The School
The Compass School is an independent primary school in East Lothian for girls and boys from pre-school (nursery) to Primary Seven. Children attending the School enjoy its friendly and caring environment in which they can feel secure and happy and in which they are encouraged to succeed, developing confidence, skills and ability. Its small class sizes allow each child to enjoy a very high level of individual attention. Over the years, it has built up an excellent reputation for providing high quality education and for the excellent results it achieves with its children. In 2022, The Compass achieved Gold status as a UN Rights Respecting School. In recent years, the School has been awarded ‘Champion School’ status by iTeach and became one of Scotland’s first Digital Schools in recognition of its work in digital learning within the curriculum. In September 2025, the School received a national Excellence Award for its intergenerational work in confronting age discrimination and stereotypes.
The School is located in a beautiful situation in Haddington, which is situated less than fifteen minutes along the A1 from the outskirts of Edinburgh.
For many years, Form One (our pre-school/nursery year) has proved extremely popular with children and parents in providing a hugely stimulating and enriching experience as children prepare for beginning more formal education on Primary One. French, Music, Judo and Swimming (all taught by specialist staff) are an integral part of the Form One curriculum. Since annual inspections by the Care Inspectorate commenced in 2004, our Form 1 class has enjoyed successive highly satisfactory reports. Our last report in January 2019 saw us, for the third consecutive time, being awarded ‘Excellent’, the highest possible category, in every aspect of our provision. Consequently, we have featured in The Sunday Times ‘Top Ten Nurseries in Scotland’ list during the past few years.
The Post
We are seeking a well-qualified and motivated person who wishes to make full use of their talents and enthusiasm, in working as part of a dedicated and professional team. The successful candidate will demonstrate commitment both to their post and to the life of the School.
They will be prepared to work in a small school environment, developing not only their skills, in working with younger children, but assisting in areas of the school and curricular development at the nursery and early years stage.
Key Responsibilities
To work as an effective member of the early years team delivering a high quality child centred service which meets the needs of children and their families. The major tasks involved would be to:
- Be actively involved in the planning and implementation of a curricular programme which meets the needs of the individual child in line with the policies of the School, with reference to national and local standards.
- Observe and interact with children in order to support their learning. Make appropriate comments and notes on individual children’s progress in line with best professional practice.
- Be actively involved in the delivery of an effective early years’ service in line with pre-determined policy and procedure.
- Participate in all aspects of team-work within Form One, including planning, preparation, care and evaluation of resources, maintenance of cleanliness and hygiene and contributing to staff discussions.
- Keep abreast of early years’ initiatives and developments and participate in continuing professional development.
- Be actively involved in all aspects of education and care which meet the needs of each child within our Form 1 (nursery) Class.
- Provide support to children in other classes within the early years at The Compass.
Terms and Conditions
The person appointed will be party to a Contract of Employment between themselves and the Governors of The Compass School.
The hours, which take place during term time only, are approximately as follows:
Monday 9.30am –1.30pm
Tuesday 9.30am – 1.30pm
Wednesday 8.30am – 1.30pm
Thursday 9.30am – 1.45pm
Friday 9.30am – 12.45pm
These hours amount to 21 hours per week.
There may be additional opportunities and hours available to further support our before and after-school care facility.
The rate of pay is currently £14.76 an hour, paid monthly in arrears for 39 weeks of the year. An additional five weeks of holiday pay is also paid at the same rate. All holidays must be taken during the generous school holiday period.
The candidate should be qualified to Level 3 SVQ or equivalent.
The appointment is subject to a PVG check with Disclosure Scotland and with SSSC.
The Compass School is a non smoking/vaping campus.
This is an exciting opportunity for those who wish to work with young children within a positive and stimulating environment, where realistic and attainable targets are set for children who in turn are encouraged to take pride in their achievements both in and out the classroom.
Additional Information About The School
The Compass School is firmly committed to purposeful child-centred learning with small class sizes (average number of pupils in each class – 17; maximum - 20) allowing for a significant level of individual attention for each child. Children are encouraged to develop their individual skills and abilities to the full within a wide ranging and stimulating curriculum. French is taught from age four as are Judo, Music and Swimming alongside the main core subjects. The curriculum is broadly based on the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland although has been adapted to meet the needs of our children and the academic standards to which we strive. Classes are made up of a wide span of abilities and the School is able to cater for the gifted as well as the less able.
A wide-ranging programme of sporting activities is also offered with all of our older children taking part in fixtures with other schools in a variety of sports.
Outdoor education is also a feature of life at The Compass School with overnight visits to such places as London, York, France, the Scottish Highlands, the Belmont Outdoor Centre in Perthshire and the Broomlee Outdoor Centre in the Scottish Borders, being combined with day visits to a variety of places of interest in East Lothian, Edinburgh and beyond, as our children explore the 'outdoor classroom'.
The School has been in existence for over 60 years, having been created by the Founder headmistress, Mrs Alny Younger, to fill a gap in educational provision in the area. The School since 1992 has been under the trusteeship of a Board of Governors.
There are currently 141 children on the school roll organised into eight classes, ranging from Reception/Nursery (4 year olds) to Primary 7 (12 years).
French, PE, Music and Judo are taught by specialist staff, but most other subjects are taught by class teachers.
The Compass offers an attractive environment in which to work, with well-motivated happy children guided by a friendly and committed staff. We have very good relations with the parents and strong support from the governing body.
Staff have access to a wide-range of Continuing Professional Development opportunities through the Scottish Council of Independent Schools professional learning programme and via many online or in-person courses and conferences.
The School last underwent an HMI inspection in March 2016 and received what the local media described as, a glowing report. Many strengths were identified within the School, particularly its strong positive ethos and its wide-ranging curriculum. Since annual inspections by the Care Inspectorate commenced in 2004, our Form 1 class and Compass Care, our after-school care facility, has enjoyed successive highly satisfactory reports. Our most recent report in December 2019 saw us, for the third consecutive time, being awarded ‘Excellent’, the highest possible category, in every aspect of our provision.
Further information on the School can be obtained from the School's website at www.thecompassschool.co.uk .
Application Procedure
Applications should be submitted online by letter to the Headmaster at the address below, enclosing the accompanying/attached application form and the names and contact details of two referees.
The deadline for receipt of applications is Wednesday 13 May 2026.
Applications should be sent to: The Headmaster, The Compass School, West Road, Haddington, East Lothian, EH41 3RD