Nursery Room Leader

Love Childcare Recruitment; Barnes; On-site; GBP 39,000 - 41,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid training before opening

Leadership opportunity

26 days annual leave

Job summary

Love Childcare Recruitment is helping a boutique nursery in Barnes, Richmond upon Thames to recruit an experienced Room Leader for its January 2027 opening. You will lead a team, shape room routines and ensure reflective, relationship‑centred practice from day one.

The role offers a £39-41k salary, full-time hours (Mon–Fri), and paid training ahead of opening. You will play a pivotal part in establishing strong relationships and a nurturing environment for children.

Qualifications

• Min. Level 3 in Early Years is required.
• Previous nursery or EYFS experience with team leadership essential.
• Fluent English communication to engage children and families.
• Solid safeguarding knowledge and EYFS understanding.
• Warm, proactive approach to launching a brand-new setting.

Responsibilities

• Lead, motivate and support a team of practitioners in your room.
• Ensure the room is well organised, welcoming and adheres to high standards.
• Plan high-quality teaching and play experiences aligned with developmental needs.
• Build secure relationships with children and families, supporting emotional wellbeing.

Skills

Leadership

Team mentoring

Communication

Safeguarding

EYFS knowledge

Education

Level 3 in Early Years

Job description

£39,000-£41,000 salary (dependent on experience and qualifications)

Location: Barnes, Richmond upon Thames, SW London (SW13)

Our client is a brand new, boutique nursery opening in Barnes in January 2027, founded by a former nursery teacher turned child therapist with a masters in play therapy. They're looking for an experienced Room Leader to help launch a calm, attachment-informed setting from the ground up, leading a team of practitioners and setting the standard for care from the very first day.

This is a genuinely rare opportunity to shape a nursery before it opens, rather than stepping into someone else's way of doing things. You will have real input into how the room runs, how the team develops and how the setting's values, strong relationships, thoughtful environments, and a deep respect for each child's emotional development, come to life in practice. The building itself is filled with natural light and has been designed with real care.

On offer is a salary of £39-41k depending on experience, a month of paid training ahead of opening, and genuine leadership responsibility in a nursery built around reflective, relationship‑centred practice.

Working pattern: Full-time, Monday to Friday, with shift patterns of 7:30am-4:30pm or 9am-6pm. On‑site training and induction will start in December ahead of the January 2027 opening.

Key responsibilities:

• Leadership: Lead, motivate and support a team of practitioners within your room, modelling outstanding early years practice and mentoring less experienced staff.
• Room standards: Ensure the room is well organised and welcoming, monitoring the quality of practice and driving continuous improvement as the nursery finds its feet.
• Teaching and learning: Lead high‑quality teaching through play, planning experiences that reflect each child's interests and developmental needs.
• Relationships and wellbeing: Act as a key person, building secure, trusting relationships with children and their families, and supporting emotional wellbeing through responsive, relationship‑centred practice.

About you:

• Qualification: Min. Level 3 qualified in Early Years.
• Experience: Previous experience in a nursery or early years setting is essential, along with previous experience managing and leading a team, and being confident enough to role‑model good practice from day one.
• Language and communication: A highly fluent English speaker, with strong communication skills that support children's language development and build real confidence with parents.
• Knowledge: Confident safeguarding knowledge and a solid understanding of the EYFS framework.
• Approach: Warm, patient, resilient and proactive, comfortable with the teething issues of helping a brand new setting get established, and genuinely passionate about early years.

What's in it for you:

• Salary of £39-41k, depending on qualifications and experience.
• A rare opportunity to lead a room and help shape a new nursery from its opening day.
• Wellbeing support and supervision embedded into the staff culture.
• Ongoing training and professional development opportunities, backed by a dedicated annual training budget.
• 26 days annual leave (including public holidays), rising by a day for each year served up to five years, plus nursery closure between Christmas and New Year.