Nursery Manager

Registered Manager | EYFS & Safeguarding Lead | Full-time, permanent

Reports to

Owner & Director (board level only)

Manages

Deputy Manager, Business & Operations Coordinator, all Practitioners

Registered places

116 children aged 0 to 5

Hours

Full-time, 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Flexibility required for Ofsted, events and quarterly board meetings.

Contract

Permanent, subject to 6-month probationary period, enhanced DBS clearance with barred list check, and Ofsted suitability checks.

Start date

As soon as possible. A structured 4 to 6 week handover with the outgoing manager is built into the process.

Role purpose

The Nursery Manager is the operational and professional heart of Dickory Docks. You will lead every aspect of the nursery’s day-to-day operation: the quality of care and education delivered to children, the development and wellbeing of your team, compliance with Ofsted and EYFS requirements, and the nursery’s relationship with families. You will be the Registered Manager named on the Ofsted registration, carrying professional responsibility for the setting. The owner operates at board level only, you run the nursery, and you will be given the autonomy that goes with that. This is the single most important appointment in the nursery’s new chapter. We are looking for an exceptional leader, not merely a competent manager.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, and inspire the full nursery team, creating a culture of high standards, genuine warmth, and continuous improvement.
• Hold the Registered Manager role with Ofsted, maintaining full compliance with the EYFS statutory framework and all Ofsted requirements at all times.
• Lead safeguarding and child protection across the nursery, acting as or directly overseeing the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).
• Manage allegations against staff, including liaison with the Local Authority Designated Officer, and record and act on low-level concerns.
• Implement the current EYFS safeguarding requirements in full, including safer eating and choking prevention, safer sleep, intimate care, and the use of mobile phones, cameras and smart devices in the setting.
• Maintain a compliant and current Single Central Record covering DBS status, qualifications, references, right to work and disqualification declarations.
• Make all statutory notifications to Ofsted within the required timescales, including serious incidents and changes to registered people.
• Oversee the quality of educational provision in all rooms: curriculum, planning, observation, assessment, and progress tracking for every child, including the statutory progress check at age two.
• Lead inspection readiness against Ofsted’s current framework, which produces a report card grading seven evaluation areas on a five-point scale, with safeguarding reported separately as met or not met.
• Build everyday evidence rather than inspection-week evidence, and ensure every practitioner can talk confidently to an inspector about their own practice.
• Lead on inclusion as a distinct area of accountability, ensuring children with SEND, children with EAL and disadvantaged children are fully included and making progress.
• Ensure the setting has an effective SENCO in post, either holding the role yourself or appointing and supervising it, and lead the graduated approach and any EHC needs assessment requests.
• Maintain an honest, live self-evaluation and a costed, time-bound improvement plan, reviewed at every board meeting.
• Build and maintain strong, trusting relationships with parents and carers, handling concerns professionally and ensuring communication is consistently excellent.
• Own the complaints procedure, resolving concerns early and keeping the required record of complaints and outcomes.
• Manage staffing in full: rotas, cover, performance management, appraisals, and recruitment, following safer recruitment practice at every stage and working in partnership with the owner and external HR support.
• Hold regular one-to-one supervision meetings for every member of staff, as required by the EYFS, and keep a record of them.
• Deploy staff efficiently to maintain statutory ratios and qualification requirements at all times, including during absence, holidays and peak periods.
• Own staff retention. Turnover is a reported KPI and a leading indicator of quality.
• Maintain all required documentation: Ofsted registration, risk assessments, staff records, children’s files, EYFS assessments, safeguarding records, and self-evaluation evidence.
• Manage health and safety across the premises, including risk assessments, fire safety and evacuation, food safety and allergen management, medication, and accident reporting.
• Ensure GDPR compliance in the handling of children’s, families’ and staff records.
• Maintain the policy and procedure library, with tracked review dates.
• Work closely with the Business & Operations Coordinator to ensure smooth administration, accurate invoicing, funded entitlement claims to Reading Borough Council, and timely financial reporting to the board.
• Drive and sustain occupancy against an agreed target, conducting show-rounds personally and ensuring every enquiry is followed up promptly.
• Manage the nursery budget and the staff cost ratio, understanding that staffing is largely non-discretionary and that occupancy is the single biggest lever on viability.
• Ensure the nursery management software is used properly and consistently for registers, observations, invoicing and parent communication.
• Produce a monthly management report for the board covering occupancy, quality, staffing, compliance, and financial performance, and present at board meetings.
• Contribute to the nursery’s growth strategy, supporting marketing, building local employer and community partnerships, and working with the owner on occupancy and capacity targets.
• Champion the nursery’s values: ethical practice, inclusivity, sustainability, and the genuine wellbeing of every child, family, and team member.