Nursery Manager

Nursery Manager – Term Time

Dots & Tots Nursery
Full Time | Term Time | Monday–Friday | 8:00am–4:30pm
Salary: Competitive and negotiable depending on experience and qualifications

We are looking for an experienced, confident and passionate Nursery Manager to lead one of our small, established Dots & Tots nursery settings.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who loves Early Years and wants to manage a setting where they can genuinely know the children, families and team.

Our nursery is a small, term-time setting, open Monday to Friday from 8:00am–4:30pm. We are looking for a Manager who can take ownership of the day-to-day running of the nursery while maintaining high standards of care, education, safeguarding and compliance.

The role

As Nursery Manager, you will be responsible for the effective day-to-day leadership of the setting, including:

• Leading, supporting and developing the nursery team
• Ensuring children receive high-quality, engaging Early Years experiences
• Maintaining strong safeguarding practice throughout the setting
• Ensuring the nursery meets EYFS and regulatory requirements
• Supporting practitioners to understand children's individual needs, interests and next steps
• Maintaining high standards of health, safety, safer eating and safer sleep
• Overseeing staff deployment and ensuring appropriate ratios are maintained
• Managing staff performance, supervision and development
• Supporting recruitment, induction and ongoing training
• Ensuring records, policies and nursery systems are maintained effectively
• Building positive and professional relationships with parents and families
• Supporting children with SEND and working effectively with other professionals
• Monitoring the quality of practice and addressing areas requiring improvement
• Maintaining a welcoming, organised and stimulating nursery environment
• Taking responsibility and accountability for the smooth running of the setting

About you

We are looking for someone who is confident enough to lead but approachable enough to build a positive team around them.

You will ideally:

• Hold a recognised Level 3 Early Years qualification or above
• Have previous leadership or management experience within an Early Years setting
• Have a strong understanding of the EYFS
• Have excellent safeguarding knowledge
• Understand what high-quality interactions and child-led learning look like in practice
• Be confident supporting children with additional needs
• Be organised and able to prioritise effectively
• Be comfortable having professional conversations and managing staff performance when required
• Have high expectations while creating a supportive working environment
• Be proactive and able to take ownership rather than waiting to be directed
• Have excellent communication skills with children, families, colleagues and professionals

Why join Dots & Tots?

This is not a large corporate nursery environment.

We are a small, established nursery where relationships with children and families really matter. We want our Manager to have the autonomy to lead their setting, supported by experienced senior leadership when needed.

The nursery is term time only, offering a working pattern that can provide a much better balance than many traditional Nursery Manager roles.

Opening hours are 8:00am–4:30pm, Monday to Friday.

Salary is negotiable and will reflect the successful candidate's qualifications, experience and the value they can bring to the setting.

If you are an experienced Early Years professional who is ready to take ownership of a nursery and lead a team with confidence, warmth and high expectations, we would love to hear from you.

Job type: Full-time, term-time
Schedule: Monday to Friday
Nursery opening hours: 8:00am–4:30pm

Job Type: Full-time

Work Location: In person