Job Overview
Pre School Manager
Location: Dodleston Pre School, Chester
Contract: 26 hours per week (Monday - Wednesday & Fridays 8.45am - 3.15pm), term time only.
Salary: £17,350 pro rata based on 26 hours per week over 38 weeks. FTE £30,200.
Our Friendly village pre school is looking for a passionate, organised and caring manager to lead our small but mighty team!
Dodleston Pre-School has been established for 35 years in the pretty village of Dodleston, just a few miles outside Chester and near the border of North Wales and Flintshire. It’s a beautiful, countryside setting with fantastic views of the Welsh Hills, and even cows on our doorstep in summer. The Pre-School is open for 25 hours a week over 4 days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday) and we take children from 2 years to school age. At our pre-school, we put children first. We want to create the perfect environment for them to develop their own personalities with a space they feel safe in. Our relaxing environment means they can build the confidence to explore and learn, boasting both exciting and challenging activities that aim to inspire young minds and encourage their natural instinct and curiosity. We have a large hall and outdoor area, and are strong advocates of learning through play and child-led activities. We believe in encouraging each child so they can reach their potential. Every child is treated as an individual and encouraged to participate in activities that relate to their personal interests. We learn what they do and don’t like, as well as their rate of learning so we can educate them accordingly. It’s certainly not a ‘one size fits all’ approach at Dodleston. Our children are curious, they are explorers, they ask questions and seek answers through their indoor and outdoor experiences, alongside staff who know when to intervene to scaffold learning and when to stand back and let the children lead. Our setting is very much a part of the local community and our 2025 Ofsted report rated us 'Good' and described us nurturing, supportive and committed.
The Role: If you have strong experience working in early years and are after a fun new opportunity, we want to hear from you!Our Manager will be passionate about early years, an enthusiastic team leader with an ethos to match ours and who has a good working knowledge of SENDCo responsibilities and procedures; they will be a team player who holds a minimum L3 qualification from the Ofsted approved list, with at least 2 years’ experience in an Early Years setting, must have already achieved a suitable level 2 qualification in maths, or must do so within 2 years of starting the position (EYFS), also, 1 year in a manager or deputy role or other suitable experience is desirable.Main Duties to include:
- Education and Curriculum: to ensure that all children have access to stimulating play experiences with a knowledge and regard to the new EYFS; observing, supporting and extending these; staff deployment to enable the best outcomes for both the children and the setting as a whole.
- Team Leadership: to take responsibility for performance management systems, including supporting staff in carrying out their roles; to work alongside the Deputy to supervise staff, identify and provide training as appropriate; support staff wellbeing; lead regular staff meetings.
- Observation and Assessment: to be responsible for systems of observation and record keeping; liaising with Ofsted and other professionals as necessary to ensure that all statutory requirements are met.
- Policies, Procedures and Safeguarding: to ensure the welfare and safety of children within the setting at all times and the proper records are maintained; review and update policies at least annually.
- Communicating with parents / carers and other key partners: to liaise with families and other professionals where appropriate, providing and exchanging information and feedback; allocating keyworkers to all children; organise and oversee pre-school events.
- SENCo role: to regularly review the SEN policy and practices, being responsible on a day-to-day basis for its implementation; identify any potential SEN requirements; support practitioners in implementing approaches for individuals; ensure record keeping is maintained and used to guide decision making; liaising with other professionals as well as parents/carers
- Additional duties: Setting up and packing away each day; assisting children with personal care; carrying out on-going cleaning alongside the other staff members; developing opportunities to further our existing offering; working alongside the business manager to increase pre-school recognition and revenue; to undertake any other reasonable duties as directed by the committee.
We are committed to safeguarding children and all roles are subjected to safer recruitment checks, including an enhanced DBS check.
Pay: £17,350.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
