Nursery Manager

Storal; Rawmarsh; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance related bonus

50% childcare discount

Wellness day

PayCaptain access

Job summary

Storal's Forest Barn Nursery School in Brentwood, Essex, is seeking a Nursery Manager to lead the team, embed safe, high‑quality early years practice and deliver the Storal curriculum. You will shape the setting’s culture, oversee policies, staff development and learning experiences, ensuring every child’s safety, wellbeing and curiosity in a warm, home-from-home environment.

This full‑time role offers a generous salary up to £40,000, a £1,000 welcome bonus and extensive benefits including

Qualifications

• A full and relevant Early Years Education qualification Level 3 or above or equivalent.
• GCSE maths or equivalent
• Experience in a managerial role including nursery administration or similar
• Strong knowledge of EYFS framework
• Leads with Storal values around responsibility, openness and working together and experienced in providing staff training and support
• Demonstrable leadership qualities (ideally within Early Years)
• Excellent communication skills with both children and adults

Responsibilities

• Day to day as a Nursery Manager you will be an intrinsic part of the Nurseries success ensuring the setting has the right team, culture, policies and resources to deliver the highest possible standards of childcare and early years education.
• You’ll offer solutions where you identify areas for improvements whether that relates to learning and teaching techniques or, creating more stimulating experiences and environments for the children and their educators.
• You will embrace inclusivity to ensure the individual needs of all those within your care are achieved.

Skills

EYFS knowledge

Leadership

Team management

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Level 3 EY Qualification

Job description

Nursery: Forest Barn Nursery School, The Barn at Tooks Farm, Great Warley Street, Great Warley, Brentwood, Essex, CM13 3JP

Hours: Full Time, Monday - Friday
Salary: Up to £40,000 per annum plus £1,000 Welcome Bonus
Benefits: Performance related bonus, 50% childcare discount, wellness day and much much

Every day at Forest Barn, we nurture our children’s natural curiosity and creativity in an environment designed to spark imaginations and build confidence. We’re proud to offer an exceptional learning space where children develop a real love for learning and an inquisitive, confident mindset.

Outdoors, we’re truly spoilt for choice. From our Nissen hut and sensory garden to the fruit patch and nearby woodland walks, nature plays a key role in our children’s development. With two gardens and a large field, there’s plenty of opportunity for exploration, adventure, and calm connection with the world around them.

Our cosy, home-from-home environment is filled with natural resources that invite play and ignite wonder. And our commitment to community shines through in our special partnership with the local care home—where residents regularly join us for tea and shared joy with the children.

At Forest Barn, learning, nature, and community come together to create a truly magical place for our children.

Remarkable Futures Start Here

Can you inspire the next generation?

Our Purpose

To give children healthy foundations in fantastic settings, helping them build the confidence and resilience that will set them up for success later in life.

You’ll be joiningas a key part of every child’s journey, keeping our children safe, loved and inspired through play-based learning.

Our nurseries are warm and nurturing environments that not only support children to be ready for school, but also equip them with all the life skills they need to flourish and succeed

Can you lead a team to shape the future of early years education.

You’ll have a supportive team to help you succeed, including an Operations Manager, Deputy Manager, Office Manager Early Years Educators and an education coach to help with the delivery of the Storal curriculum.

How you’ll spend your time here

Day to day as a Nursery Manager you will be an intrinsic part of the Nurseries success ensuring the setting has the right team, culture, policies and resources to deliver the highest possible standards of childcare and early years education.

You’ll offer solutions where you identify areas for improvements whether that relates to learning and teaching techniques or, creating more stimulating experiences and environments for the children and their educators. You will embrace inclusivity to ensure the individual needs of all those within your care are achieved.

Our nurseries are warm and nurturing environments that not only support children to be ready for school, but also equip them with all the life skills they need to flourish and succeed

We’d love to talk to you if you have the following

• A full and relevant Early Years Education qualification Level 3 or above or equivalent
• GCSE math's or equivalent
• Experience in a managerial role including nursery administration or similar
• A strong knowledge and understanding EYFS framework
• Reflecting the Storal values around responsibility, openness and working together and experienced in providing staff training and support
• Demonstrable leadership qualities (ideally within Early Years)
• Excellent communication skills with both children and adults

Benefits for You

• For you - We get the basics right enhanced holidays, paid sick pay, extra wellness day off (yearly) and you can access your pay before payday with Pay Captain
• Family matters - Balance starts at home Childcare Discount + Funding, compassionate leave & enhanced maternity leave
• Health & wellness - Nourishing body & mind Partnerships with Vitality & Peppy; fertility & menopause support, gym discount, free movie tickets
• Development - Investing in your future with micro-learning, financial stability tools & the Storal Support Fund
• Our community - Growing together Termly inset days, team member app and Storal Awards

Not everything fits in a job advert

Storal sets the highest of standards when it coming to safeguarding, the welfare of children and creating a work environment that encourages feedback-discussion-resilience. We take our role in the safety of children, our families and our team extremely seriously. As governed by the EYFS, we have a designated safeguarding lead in each setting and all staff (and volunteers) complete a through compliance checks prior to employment including employment references & DBS.