Assistant Nursery Manager / Senior Nursery Practitioner

East Kent College; Canterbury; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

A local educational institution in Canterbury is looking for an Assistant Nursery Manager to support children's early development in a nurturing environment. This role offers a competitive salary and many benefits, including generous annual leave and commendable professional development opportunities. Ideal candidates will have nursery experience and a passion for early childhood education. Applications are encouraged for those committed to safeguarding and child welfare.

Benefits

Generous Annual Leave

Learning and Development Opportunities

Exclusive Discounts & Perks

Flexible Personal Leave

Wellbeing and Health Support

Competitive Pension Scheme

Qualifications

• Experience working within a nursery environment.
• Confidence to take on the key person role.
• A commitment to delivering engaging and high-quality early years education.

Responsibilities

• Support and promote inclusive practice.
• Communicate clearly and professionally with stakeholders.
• Maintain a safe and secure environment.

Skills

Experience in a nursery or early years setting

Commitment to safeguarding

Positive and enthusiastic attitude

Flexibility and reliability

Education

Understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Job description

About The Role

Guiding Little Steps Toward a BIG Future!

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Nursery Manager to come and join our on-site Nursery at Canterbury College. This is a fixed term placement until 31 October 2026 to help cover parental leave.

You may have worked as an Early Years Practitioner or Nursery Assistant and are looking for the next step in your career. This is a fantastic opportunity to get your foot in the door and gain that valuable experience!

What Makes Us Special

• A warm, inclusive and supportive team environment
• Purpose-built nursery settings filled with laughter, learning and care
• A shared passion for supporting children’s development in their vital early years

We’re Looking For Someone Who

• Has experience in a nursery or early years setting
• Is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children
• Works well as part of a team and can bring a positive, enthusiastic attitude
• Is flexible, reliable and passionate about early childhood education

Benefits

Alongside our priority of an excellent nursery experience for every child, we also focus on our employees. Here are just some of our benefits when working for the East Kent Colleges Group:

• Generous Annual Leave - 26 Days FTE per annum, +3 days after 5 years
• Learning and Development Opportunities – 3‑4 annual paid group development days, bespoke training programmes and strong internal progression – 1 in 3 roles are filled internally
• Exclusive Discounts & Perks – Inc. restaurant, grocery, retail and holidays discounts as well as car leasing and tech purchasing schemes, on‑site nursery
• Flexible Personal Leave – Time off for your child's first day at nursery, school or college, moving homes and for interviews
• Wellbeing and Health Support – Generous sick pay, counselling services, discounted gym membership at Canterbury College
• Culture and Recognition – Being part of Community Days, an annual Staff Celebration Day, and an eco‑friendly organisation dedicated to reaching net‑zero by 2030
• Competitive Pension Scheme – 18% Employer Contribution

Please note that this role can be offered as a Senior Nursery Practitioner with the salary of £25,310 (FTE) per annum.

About You

We are seeking a passionate and dedicated Assistant Nursery Manager to join our team and make a genuine difference in children’s lives. If you're hardworking, experienced, and committed to delivering high‑quality care and education, we’d love to hear from you!

What We’re Looking For

• Experience working within a nursery environment
• A strong understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
• Confidence to take on the key person role, building strong, supportive relationships with children and their families
• A commitment to delivering engaging, high‑quality early years education
• The ability to work in partnership with parents/carers and implement welfare requirements to the highest standards

You’ll Need To Be Able To

• Communicate clearly and professionally with colleagues, children, and families
• Demonstrate a sound knowledge of child development and individual children’s needs
• Maintain a safe and secure environment, with a good understanding of health and safety regulations
• Support and promote inclusive practice and equality policies in day‑to‑day work
• Be flexible and willing to take on additional responsibilities as required

This role is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a supportive and passionate team, helping to shape the future for the youngest learners.

No need to spend time updating your CV, just click apply and complete our short application form. You can save your progress as you go, and we’ll review all applications and get back to all candidates after the closing date.

If you are interested in an informal chat about the role, or have any queries, please email us on [e-mail].

About Us

East Kent Colleges Group is an Ofsted Outstanding rated provider. It is proud to be the first General Further Education college organisation in the country to have received the Outstanding grade against each of the strands under the new Ofsted inspection framework. An inclusive provider, our colleagues place our students and the communities we serve at the heart of everything they do across EKC Group and this is illustrated in our ‘Strong’ skills grading by Ofsted.

Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and we ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities for upholding these principles.

As a designated establishment, we are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore have an obligation to carry out checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. These checks include conviction/caution self‑declaration, Enhanced DBS check and obtaining sufficient referencing.

It is a criminal offence to apply for a post which involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to children if you are barred from doing so.

If you are successful in being shortlisted to interview, your suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults will be explored as part of the interview process.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

East Kent Colleges Group is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of our communities. We are particularly keen to increase the diversity of our staff body and encourage applications from candidates where there is under‑representation in our workforce.

We are proud to hold the Positive About Disability Award and are a Disability Confident Employer. This confirms our commitment to interviewing all applicants who declare that they have a disability and who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. With any successful candidate, we will explore any reasonable adjustments to a role due to a health needs or disability.

Similarly, we have a commitment to Care Leavers (Care Covenant Pledge) and to current or previous Armed Forces personnel (Armed Forces Covenant Pledge) with a commitment to interview applicants who meet the positions essential criteria and who have declared this on their application.

We welcome applications from anyone wishing to work flexibly and those considering a return to work from a career break.

We do not engage with agencies for permanent staff and have an in‑house recruitment team.