Early Years Stronger Practice Adviser for Group Settings

Are you a passionate early years leader ready to coach, inspire, and drive quality across regional settings?

We have four EYSPAs available across the following settings:

• Gateshead
• North Tyneside
• Newcastle
• PVI

Each role is fixed term to March 2028.

Join us as an Early Years Stronger Practice Adviser (EYSPA) for Group-Based Provision and play a key role in boosting children’s learning, development, and wellbeing. Delivered through the Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs (EYSPH) as part of the Department for Education’s Best Start in Life Strategy, this role gives you the opportunity to share your expertise, model best practice, and support setting leaders across your region to narrow the disadvantage gap.

Every child deserves the best start in life. Building on the proven success of the DfE’s previous Experts and Mentors programme, the Early Years Stronger Practice Adviser (EYSPA) programme delivers targeted, peer-led coaching to eligible group-based settings (PVIs, school-based nurseries, maintained nursery schools, etc.).

As a Group-Based EYSPA, you will work directly with 3 eligible settings per term. You’ll build strong, trusting relationships with setting leaders, conduct reflective diagnostic reviews, and deliver bespoke on-site coaching to support sustainable, high-quality outcomes.

Taking on an EYSPA role is an exceptional opportunity to advance your leadership profile while staying connected to setting-level practice:

• Your setting receives £500 per day (via a Section 14 grant) to cover your release time, travel, and expenses. Settings may also allocate part of this funding for responsibility payments at their discretion.
• Receive comprehensive face-to-face training delivered by DfE training partner White Rose Education, along with ongoing virtual CPD opportunities.
• Master diagnostic analysis, adult mentoring models, and action planning across diverse early years contexts
• Work directly with local EYSPH Leads, Local Authority teams, Family Hubs, and peer leaders across multiple local authorities.
• Help raise early education standards, build practitioner confidence, and narrow the achievement gap for vulnerable young children.

Looking for more information? Please contact Sarah Stock, EYSPH Lead, to arrange an informal chat on s.stock@neatat.org.uk.

Interested? If you would like to join us and feel you could thrive here, then please read the accompanying Person Specification and Job Description and complete an application form which can be located in the ‘supporting documents’ section. All application forms should be submitted to HR@neatat.org.uk no later than 12noon on Thursday 10th September 2026. 

Specific training for this role will be delivered on Friday 16th October and Wednesday 4th November 2026.

Please speak to your current employer before applying to ensure they support this arrangement.

NEAT is committed to safer recruitment practice and promoting the welfare of children and expects staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This position is exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and a satisfactory Enhanced DBS from the Disclosure and Barring Service is required as part of pre-employment checks. For shortlisted candidates, we will conduct an online search as part of our screening.