Seat on the Accountability Chart: Nursery Manager
Reports to: Director / Area Manager
Core Purpose
To lead, manage and be accountable for the high performance of the nursery team, ensuring excellence in childcare delivery, sales growth, and customer satisfaction, underpinned by robust processes and a joyful, safe environment for children and staff.
Five Key Roles
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Leadership, Management and Accountability (LMA)
- Leads by example, consistently upholding the nursery’s vision, values, and culture
- Manages performance of team members, providing clarity, coaching and holding regular 1:1s
- Accountable for staffing, rotas, and compliance with policies, procedures, and regulatory standards
- Drives staff engagement and creates a motivated, high‑performing team
- Oversees recruitment, onboarding, appraisals and team development
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Sales
- Owns nursery occupancy and growth targets; proactively manages enquiries and conversions
- Builds strong community links and local reputation to attract new families
- Tracks key metrics such as occupancy, leads, show‑arounds and conversion rates
- Collaborates with marketing to implement campaigns and events
- Manages fee structure and ensures financial viability of the setting
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Customer Satisfaction
- Cultivates a warm, welcoming environment for families
- Ensures excellent communication and rapport with all parents and carers
- Handles complaints and feedback professionally and promptly
- Maintains high parent partnership standards across the team
- Drives continuous improvement based on parent feedback and insights
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Processes
- Implements and maintains high‑quality systems and operational procedures
- Monitors compliance with health & safety, safeguarding, EYFS, and company policies
- Ensures accurate record‑keeping, documentation and audits
- Identifies areas for improvement and introduces effective workflow solutions
- Reviews and updates SOPs to reflect best practice and changes in legislation
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Service Delivery
- Oversees the consistent delivery of outstanding childcare and education
- Ensures curriculum and pedagogy meet the developmental needs of all children
- Supports Room Leaders and practitioners in delivering a rich, stimulating learning environment
- Monitors quality through regular observations, audits and supervision
- Provides and champions a strong safeguarding culture across the nursery to support every team member, child and family
- Champions high standards across all aspects of nursery life
- Everyone is accountable for keeping children safe and speaking up through safeguarding or whistleblowing routes if they have any concerns
Measurables (Scorecard Metrics)
- Occupancy and conversion rates
- Staff retention and engagement
- Quality assurance audits and compliance ratings
- Customer satisfaction (surveys and feedback)
- Delivery against operational and financial targets
Right Person – Lives Our Core Values
- Caring – nurtures every child and team member with warmth and compassion
- Dedicated – strives for excellence and takes pride in delivery and accountability
- Proactive – spots issues early and takes initiative to solve them
- Growth – always seeking improvements and opportunities to grow the nursery
- Fun – brings positivity and joy into every day
Right Seat – GWC Test
- ✔ Gets it – understands what outstanding childcare leadership looks like
- ✔ Wants it – has the drive to lead a high‑performing nursery with pride
- ✔ Capacity to do it – confident, capable and equipped with strong organisational skills