Room Leader

ARK START; Croydon; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 24,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

11% employer pension

Four-day week

Training within working hours

Work-life balance

Job summary

Ark Start in Croydon is seeking an experienced Nursery Room Leader to oversee high-quality care and early years education for children. You will lead a designated room, create a nurturing environment and support each child’s development while upholding safeguarding and wellbeing standards.

The role emphasises collaborative curriculum delivery, strong family partnerships and continual improvement within a supportive, wellbeing‑focused workplace.

Responsibilities

• Lead high-quality provision for children within your allocated room, creating a positive and nurturing environment where every child can thrive.
• Deliver exceptional physical, emotional, social and intellectual care, supporting each child's individual development and wellbeing.
• Champion safeguarding and promote the welfare, safety and wellbeing of all children at all times.
• Create an enabling, inclusive and stimulating environment that encourages children to play, explore, learn and develop with confidence.
• Bring the creativity, expertise, commitment and enthusiasm needed to lead outstanding room practice and inspire those around you.
• Lead the planning and delivery of high-quality learning experiences, adapting activities in response to children's interests, needs and teachable moments.
• Create and maintain an engaging, stimulating and inclusive environment that reflects the Ark Start vision and supports children to learn, play and thrive.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to implement the curriculum effectively, identifying resource requirements and supporting the development of inspiring learning opportunities.
• Lead by example in all aspects of practice, modelling the Ark Start approach and supporting colleagues to deliver consistently high standards of care, learning and professionalism.
• Build strong partnerships with families, leading settling-in visits, nursery tours and, where appropriate, supporting sensitive conversations to ensure the best outcomes for children.
• Foster a welcoming, open and supportive culture for families, providing guidance and signposting to additional services where appropriate.
• Champion safeguarding, compliance and operational excellence, ensuring policies, procedures and daily checks are consistently followed and concerns are escalated appropriately.
• Support the accurate maintenance of children's records and family communications, ensuring information is kept up to date through nursery systems.
• Work closely with the SENDCo and wider team to identify and support children with additional needs, contributing to support plans and ensuring strategies are effectively embedded in daily practice.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, accountability and teamwork, ensuring the room operates to the highest standards.

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Lead high-quality provision for children within your allocated room, creating a positive and nurturing environment where every child can thrive.
• Deliver exceptional physical, emotional, social and intellectual care, supporting each child's individual development and wellbeing.
• Champion safeguarding and promote the welfare, safety and wellbeing of all children at all times.
• Create an enabling, inclusive and stimulating environment that encourages children to play, explore, learn and develop with confidence.
• Bring the creativity, expertise, commitment and enthusiasm needed to lead outstanding room practice and inspire those around you.
• Lead the planning and delivery of high-quality learning experiences, adapting activities in response to children's interests, needs and teachable moments.
• Create and maintain an engaging, stimulating and inclusive environment that reflects the Ark Start vision and supports children to learn, play and thrive.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to implement the curriculum effectively, identifying resource requirements and supporting the development of inspiring learning opportunities.
• Lead by example in all aspects of practice, modelling the Ark Start approach and supporting colleagues to deliver consistently high standards of care, learning and professionalism.
• Build strong partnerships with families, leading settling-in visits, nursery tours and, where appropriate, supporting sensitive conversations to ensure the best outcomes for children.
• Foster a welcoming, open and supportive culture for families, providing guidance and signposting to additional services where appropriate.
• Champion safeguarding, compliance and operational excellence, ensuring policies, procedures and daily checks are consistently followed and concerns are escalated appropriately.
• Support the accurate maintenance of children's records and family communications, ensuring information is kept up to date through nursery systems.
• Work closely with the SENDCo and wider team to identify and support children with additional needs, contributing to support plans and ensuring strategies are effectively embedded in daily practice.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, accountability and teamwork, ensuring the room operates to the highest standards.

Other

• Ensure compliance with Ark Start's data protection policies and procedures, maintaining the confidentiality and security of information at all times.
• Build positive relationships with colleagues, families and external partners, communicating with confidence, professionalism, tact and diplomacy.
• At Ark Start, we believe that when our practitioners are supported, our children thrive. That's why we've created a working environment that prioritises wellbeing, professional growth, and a healthy work-life balance.
• Competitive Reward Package: We offer competitive hourly rates alongside an excellent 11% employer pension contribution, with no employee contribution required, helping you build financial security for the future.
• Genuine Work-Life Balance: Our full-time roles are based on 37.5 hours per week, and we don't expect you to work beyond that. We are able to offer the working hours for this role to be worked over a four-day working week. We recognise that our practitioners do their best work when they have time to recharge, which is why we are committed to maintaining clear boundaries between work and personal time.
• Training and Development: Within Working Hours We are passionate about continuous professional development, but we don't believe learning should come at the expense of your personal time. Any required training or development will be scheduled within your working hours. It's our responsibility to fit development opportunities into your work schedule, not yours to complete them outside of work.
• A Culture of Learning: As part of the wider Ark network, you'll benefit from access to a wealth of expertise, resources, and professional development opportunities. You'll join a collaborative community where continuous learning, knowledge-sharing, and career progression are actively encouraged and supported.
• A Team That Values You: At Ark Start, you're more than a practitioner. You'll be part of a mission‑driven organisation that values your contribution, invests in your development, and supports you to build a rewarding and sustainable career in early childhood education.