Nursery Manager

Inspire Education Group; Peterborough; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous leave

LGPS pension

Health & wellbeing

Professional development

Employee benefits

Job summary

Inspire Education Group is seeking an experienced Nursery Manager in Peterborough to lead daily nursery operations, ensuring outstanding care and education for children aged 0–5 under EYFS guidance. You will foster a positive culture, support staff, and build strong partnerships with parents and professionals.

You will manage recruitment, performance reviews, safeguarding, and budgets, while promoting inclusion and high-quality learning experiences across the setting.

Qualifications

• Level 3 childcare qualification or equivalent is required.
• Experience leading an early years team and managing a nursery setting is essential.
• Strong knowledge of EYFS and safeguarding regulations.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the nursery team, including recruitment, appraisals and staff development.
• Ensure high standards of care, education, safeguarding and child protection.
• Oversee EYFS delivery, welfare requirements and risk management across the nursery.
• Build strong relationships with children, parents, colleagues and external professionals.
• Manage budgets, resources and use of space to run the nursery efficiently.
• Promote equality, diversity and inclusion in daily practice.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Safeguarding

EYFS knowledge

Budgeting

Risk management

Communication

Education

Level 3 childcare

Job description

Salary - £36,438 per annum

Hours - 37 hours per week

Contract - Permanent

Location - Peterborough

Closing Date - 10th September 2026

Make a difference every day

Are you an experienced early years professional looking for an opportunity to lead a nursery where high-quality care, education and the wellbeing of children are at the heart of everything you do?

We are looking for a passionate and motivated Nursery Manager to lead our dedicated nursery team and create a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment where children can thrive.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of the day-to-day running of the nursery, lead and develop a committed team, build positive relationships with parents and ensure we continue to provide an excellent standard of early years education and care.

About the role

As Nursery Manager, you will have overall responsibility for the effective operation of the nursery, ensuring that children receive outstanding care and learning experiences in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and current legislation.

You will lead, support and develop the nursery team, creating a positive culture where staff feel valued, supported and able to deliver their best work.

• Leading and motivating the nursery team, including recruitment, performance management, appraisals and staff development.
• Ensuring consistently high standards of care, education, safeguarding and child protection.
• Providing effective leadership around the EYFS, child development and welfare requirements.
• Building strong and positive relationships with children, parents, colleagues and external professionals.
• Managing safeguarding, health and safety and risk management across the nursery.
• Overseeing budgets and resources, while ensuring the nursery operates effectively and efficiently.
• Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion and ensuring every child's individual needs are recognised and supported.

About you

You will be an experienced early years professional with a Level 3 childcare qualification and significant experience working with children aged 0-5.

We're looking for someone who can combine strong professional knowledge with excellent leadership and people skills. You will be confident making decisions, managing competing priorities and dealing sensitively and professionally with parents, staff and external partners.

You will ideally have experience of:

• Leading and managing an early years team.
• Deputising for a Nursery Manager or managing a nursery/early years setting.
• Safeguarding and child protection.
• Supporting children with additional needs.
• Staff recruitment, performance management and development.
• Budget or financial management.
• Risk assessments and health and safety.
• Working with external professionals such as speech and language therapists, psychologists and other agencies.

Most importantly, you will be passionate about early years, committed to safeguarding and motivated to make a positive difference to the children in your care.

Why work for IEG?

• Generous Leave: 30 days of annual leave, plus Bank Holidays and Christmas close down. (Pro-rata for part time staff)
• Competitive Pension: Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), including life assurance and death-in-service benefits
• Health and Wellbeing: Benefit from a gym, free on-site parking, access to employee assistance programme and a friendly team atmosphere
• Professional Development: Ongoing training and development opportunities, including sponsorship for HE/professional qualifications
• Employee Benefits and Rewards: Vivup employee benefits, including lifestyle savings, eligibility to apply for a Blue Light Card, providing access to a wide range of national discounts

IEG is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and any vulnerable groups within the college community and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to a thorough vetting process which includes an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

Candidates are reminded that if they are barred from working with Children it is a criminal offence to apply for this position.