We all know how tough it is to find that perfect fit in the nursery team. At Blossom Educational, we’ve worked with hundreds of settings, and guess what? Many of us are current nursery owners and practitioners ourselves. So, we get it… high-quality staff are everything.
Let’s dive into questions managers can use (and practitioners can prep for) aimed at uncovering real passion, competence, and an aligned nursery vision.
Because your nursery practitioner interview shouldn’t aim to trip your applicants up, but uncover the hidden talent and see if they are a good fit for your setting.
In this article:
Starting a nursery interview right: the first four questions to ask
Starting interviews with the right tone is everything, especially in early years, where warmth, intuition and personality are just as important as qualifications.
These four introductory questions are designed to ease practitioners in, open up meaningful conversation and help you (as a manager) get a real sense of who’s sitting in front of you.
1. “What inspired you to work in the early years?”
What to look for:
- Genuine passion for child development
- Personal story or relatable experience
- Their ‘why'(this sets the tone for everything else)
2. “How would your current team describe you in three words?”
If they are joining as an apprentice or from limited employment experience, you can ask how they might describe themselves.
What to look for:
- Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
- Honest reflection (look for a balance of practitioner soft skills and strong traits)
- Bonus if they mention reliability, warmth, or a trait that would gel well with your current team
3. “What’s something you’re working on improving about yourself right now?”
What to look for:
- Willingness to grow and reflect
- Humility and honesty
- A link to professional or personal life, it’s essential that your team are well-rounded and has interests outside of work
4. “If you could be any children's book character for a day, who would you be and why?”
A twist on the traditional opening questions, it can ease them into the upcoming questions, and you can get a glimpse into their knowledge of children’s books.
What to look for:
- Creativity and playfulness
- Passion for storytelling or early literacy and making reading fun
- Bonus: you get a lovely insight into how they engage with children
Early years interview questions about safeguarding
Here are essential questions that dig deeper than surface-level CV chat. As we know, safeguarding is set to become an Ofsted evaluation area in its own right, it’s important that your nursery team are confident to answer common safeguarding questions Ofsted might ask.
1. “If you suspected a child was being abused, what would you do?”
Answer ideas:
- Notice, respond, record, and report concerns to DSL immediately
- Understand the signs of neglect/abuse, as per EYFS statutory duties
2. “How do you keep safeguarding at the forefront of your daily practice?”
Answer ideas:
- Keep lines of communication open with the DSL
- Always keep safeguarding training up to date
- Model safe, responsible practice for the children
- Good communication between colleagues
3. “What would you do if you witnessed a colleague speaking inappropriately to a child?”
Answer ideas:
- Address immediately if safe to do so, then report to the DSL
- Follow the whistleblowing procedure (this is a new addition to the EYFS Framework for September 2025)
- Ensure the child’s welfare is always the priority
Practitioner interview questions about child development
Understanding the importance of child development and the role of a nursery practitioner as a facilitator is essential for your nursery team.
The role of a practitioner is varied and fast-paced from the get-go. Your applicant is unlikely to be an expert in child development already, they’ll learn heaps on the job and through your CPD plan. Here are questions to unpick their current knowledge on child development.
1. “Can you give an example of how you've supported a child's next steps in learning?”
Answer ideas:
- Refer to observation > planning > review cycle
- Knowledge of the Graduated Approach
- Child-led approaches (e.g. extending interest in dinosaurs into literacy)
- Use of an EYFS Tracker to link progress to learning outcomes
2. “How do you ensure activities are inclusive and meet the needs of all children?”
Answer ideas:
- Differentiated resources and flexible approaches
- Cultural relevance and SEND awareness
- Use assessments and parental input
- Know how to differentiate depending on presenting need (e.g. more communication and language activities for those displaying language development delays)
3. “What does school readiness look like to you?”
There is no right or wrong answer with this question, it can be interesting to see their experience level and opinion on what a school-ready child looks like.
Answer ideas:
- Covers the “5 S’s of school readiness”: Secure, Set-up for the day, Skills, Social skills, and Self‑driven
- Offer examples: toileting independence, turn-taking, separation from parents
4. “How would you support a child struggling with transitions, like moving to school?”
Answer ideas:
- Create transition books with photos
- Gradual visits to new environments
- Team up with parents for consistency at home
- Think about whole-setting transition plans
5. “What skills do you think are essential for school readiness?”
Similar to the above question, but more along the lines of understanding what their thoughts are on independence and skills relating to being school-ready
Answer ideas:
- Self-care, emotional regulation, early literacy and numeracy
- Confidence to ask for help
- Social skills like turn-taking and listening
Interview questions for practitioners about parent relationships
1. “How do you help build trust with families?”
Answer ideas:
- Share through daily diary, photos, and two-way communication
- Offer home‑learning ideas, e.g., messy play activities
- Have clear expectations and communicate effectively in line with the setting’s policies
- Ask for their input (via Child Profile for likes and dislikes)
2. “What do you do when a parent is worried about their child’s development?”
Answer ideas:
- Empathise and listen without judgment
- Offer examples of what you observe and what support might be needed
- Share learning journey data (Blossom’s Learning Journey is perfect for this)
- Speak to your mentor or a more experienced staff member for advice on how to support the parent
3. “How do you involve families in their child’s learning journey?”
Answer ideas:
- Invite parents to share wow moments via the Parent App
- Be friendly during walkarounds and supportive during the onboarding process
- Signpost to activities they can do at home
Interview questions about conflict resolution
Sometimes, your practitioners may encounter a parent who is irate or dissatisfied. This can be daunting for new staff. It is important to ensure your policies support practitioners to always feel safe in the workplace.
Having good conflict resolution skills can be a good foundation for you to build upon with tailored training.
1. “Tell me about a time you resolved a conflict with a colleague or parent.”
Answer ideas:
- Listen actively, de-escalate calmly, and involve the manager if needed
- Discuss the incident with a mentor or the nursery team to avoid similar incidents in the future
- Ensure follow-up and restore rapport
2. “What would you do if you disagreed with how a colleague handled a behaviour issue?”
Answer ideas:
*If the child’s wellbeing and welfare are not at risk*
- Speak privately and respectfully to the colleague
- Involve the manager if needed for support
3. “How do you manage differences of opinion with parents?”
Answer ideas:
- Keep things respectful and professional
- Focus on the child’s best interests
- Use documentation as evidence to support your approach (observations help here)
Questions for practitioners about career progression
Ambition and drive are important traits for your future nursery staff. Whether they have aspirations to move into management, specialise in an area like SEND or mentor others through their apprenticeships, it’s useful to know what excites them about their future in childcare.
1. “Where do you see your career in 2–3 years?”
This can be reworded to not be time-specific. You can ask your applicants what excites them about their future career in childcare.
Answer ideas:
- Desire to be a key worker then room leader, eventually a manager
- Growth via CPD
- Specific areas of experience or qualifications (like the early years SENDCo role)
- To train to be an early years educator (teacher)
2. “What skills are you looking to develop next?”
Answer ideas:
- Leadership, SEN expertise, or specific age group development
- Keen to take on more responsibility, like key person mentoring
- Knowledge and skills with child development for a specific age group like babies
3. “Have you had any experience mentoring or supporting other staff?”
Answer ideas:
- Share mentoring or peer observation experiences
- Reflect on what they’ve learned from others, too
- Talk about team collaboration
- Use personal experience, maybe they were captain of their sports team (all useful experience!)
How to prepare for a nursery practitioner interview
- Be yourself!
- Research the setting, look at their social media (this might even be an element you can help them with)
- Look at what is happening in early years via Blossom Blogs, the Department for Education website or Ofsted updates
- Review the “manager Qs” above, then shape your responses to include specific EYFS terms and clear scenario-based examples to back up your answer
- Consider whether you have any questions for them, such as about CPD opportunities, how they support staff mental health, and what their workplace culture is like (it should be a good fit for you, too!)
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