Deputy Nursery Manager – Blooming Kids
Hours: 40 hours per week
Working pattern: 4 days and 1 half day, worked between the hours of 8:00am and 6:00pm
Blooming Kids is looking for a passionate, experienced and confident Deputy Nursery Manager to join our team.
At Blooming Kids, we aim to provide a warm and welcoming home-from-home environment where children feel safe, secure and confident to explore, learn and develop.
We are looking for a Deputy Manager who genuinely shares our vision and has the confidence and leadership skills to help us maintain consistently high standards across the nursery.
About the Role
The Deputy Nursery Manager will work closely alongside the Nursery Manager to support the effective day-to-day running of Blooming Kids.
This is a hands-on leadership position. We are looking for someone who will be visible within the nursery, working alongside practitioners, supporting their development and consistently modelling the standards expected from the team.
Strong leadership and positive role modelling are key to this position. You will need to be supportive and approachable, while also having the confidence to address poor practice, have difficult conversations when necessary and ensure expectations are consistently followed.
You will also be expected to confidently take responsibility for the nursery in the Manager's absence.
Our Curriculum and Community Approach
At Blooming Kids, our curriculum is centred around real-life experiences, independence, curiosity and exploration.
We encourage children to learn beyond the nursery through walks, outings, visits to the local library, green spaces and other community experiences. Building strong relationships within our local community is an important part of our approach, helping children feel connected to and confident within the world around them.
Our Deputy Manager will play an active role in building and developing relationships and partnerships within the community, finding new opportunities and experiences for our children and encouraging the team to make meaningful use of the local area.
We are therefore looking for someone who is enthusiastic about getting out and exploring with children, developing relationships within our local community and helping us continue to develop our unique Blooming Kids curriculum.
Job Description
As Deputy Nursery Manager, your responsibilities will include:
- Supporting the Nursery Manager with the overall day-to-day running of the setting.
- Providing strong, positive and consistent leadership to the nursery team.
- Leading by example and demonstrating excellent practice.
- Maintaining high standards of care, education, safeguarding and professionalism throughout the nursery.
- Ensuring the Blooming Kids ethos, curriculum and approach are reflected in everyday practice.
- Supporting staff to provide child-led, meaningful learning experiences.
- Promoting children's independence, confidence, curiosity and individual interests.
- Monitoring the quality of staff interactions, routines, environments and learning opportunities.
- Supporting staff deployment and ensuring appropriate ratios and supervision are maintained throughout the day.
- Ensuring EYFS statutory requirements and nursery policies and procedures are understood and consistently followed.
- Supporting effective safeguarding practice and responding appropriately to concerns.
- Identifying poor or inconsistent practice and addressing this promptly and professionally.
- Providing staff with guidance, coaching, constructive feedback and support to develop their practice.
- Supporting staff inductions, supervisions, training and ongoing professional development.
- Helping to maintain a calm, purposeful, welcoming and stimulating nursery environment.
- Supporting effective communication between rooms and across the wider staff team.
- Building strong and professional relationships with parents and carers.
- Supporting families and ensuring their views and individual circumstances are respected.
- Supporting children's transitions into, within and out of the nursery.
- Ensuring children's individual needs are recognised and supported.
- Promoting inclusive practice for all children, including those with SEND and EAL.
- Assisting with nursery documentation, monitoring, compliance and ongoing Ofsted readiness.
- Supporting health and safety procedures and ensuring concerns are acted upon promptly.
- Taking responsibility for the nursery and making appropriate leadership decisions in the Nursery Manager's absence.
- Working alongside the Nursery Manager to continually evaluate and improve the quality of the provision.
What We Are Looking For
We are looking for someone who:
- Holds a relevant Level 3 Early Years qualification or above.
- Has strong knowledge and understanding of the EYFS.
- Has previous experience within an early years setting, ideally as a Room Leader, Deputy Manager or in another leadership position.
- Has leadership experience or can demonstrate the skills and confidence required to progress into a strong leadership role.
- Has a good understanding of safeguarding and child protection.
- Has high expectations for themselves and others.
- Is confident addressing situations where standards or expectations are not being met.
- Can lead, motivate and support a team while maintaining professional boundaries.
- Is proactive and able to recognise what needs to be done without always requiring direction.
- Is organised, reliable and able to prioritise effectively.
- Communicates confidently and professionally with staff, children, parents and other professionals.
- Shares our passion for child-led learning, independence and learning through meaningful, real-life experiences.
- Is enthusiastic about exploring the local community with children and developing positive community relationships.
- Understands the importance of creating a genuine home-from-home environment for children.
Leadership Expectations
At Blooming Kids, our leadership team sets the standard for the rest of the nursery.
Our Deputy Manager must therefore be someone who leads through their own actions. We expect you to demonstrate the practice, professionalism, attitude and work ethic that you expect from your team.
Being supportive does not mean allowing standards to slip. You must be comfortable providing constructive feedback, challenging poor practice and holding staff accountable when expectations are not being met.
Equally, we want a leader who recognises good practice, encourages their team, listens to staff and helps practitioners feel confident, supported and valued.
Ultimately, we are looking for someone who takes pride in their nursery and understands that maintaining high standards is an everyday responsibility, not something we only focus on when preparing for Ofsted.
Safer Recruitment
Blooming Kids is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment.
The successful candidate will be subject to our safer recruitment procedures, including:
- An enhanced DBS check, including the appropriate barred list check.
- Two satisfactory references, which will be obtained and verified.
- Verification of identity and right to work in the UK.
- Verification of relevant qualifications.
- Checks and clarification of employment history, including any gaps in employment.
Any offer of employment will be conditional upon the satisfactory completion of all required safer recruitment and suitability checks.
Pay: £32,000.00-£35,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
