Forest School Nursery Manager
Job Description
Location:
Stave Hill Ecology Park, London SE16 6AX
Contract:
Permanent, part-time
(3 days per week, with opportunity to increase to 4 days from 2027)
Salary:
£38,000 - £41,000 FTE (pro rata) depending on experience
Benefits:
Private healthcare, company pension, discounted childcare, cycle-to-work scheme and ongoing CPD.
Lead one of London's most unique nurseries
At The Hive, we believe childhood should be spent outdoors.
Our Forest School nursery is located in the beautiful surroundings of Stave Hill Ecology Park, where children spend their days exploring the woodland, meadow and open spaces, building confidence, resilience and a lifelong connection with nature.
We're looking for an experienced Forest School Nursery Manager who shares this vision and wants the opportunity to lead a small, high-quality nursery where relationships come first, curiosity drives learning and every day is different.
If you're passionate about child-led learning, love inspiring others and are looking for a role where you can genuinely shape the future of a nursery, we'd love to hear from you.
About The Hive
The Hive is a Certified B Corporation and one of London's leading Forest School organisations.
Since 2014, we've welcomed thousands of children through our Forest School holiday camps, workshops and outdoor learning programmes. Since 2018, we've also trained hundreds of Forest School Leaders through our nationally recognised, Ofqual-regulated Forest School qualifications.
Our nursery builds on this experience by offering a truly immersive fully outdoors Forest School setting for children aged 2–5.
What you’ll enjoy working here
Unlike many nursery management roles, this position allows you to focus on what matters most: children, learning and your team.
You'll benefit from:
· Leading a small nursery with just 18 children.
· Working almost entirely outdoors in a beautiful ecological park.
· The freedom to shape an inspiring, nature-led curriculum.
· A collaborative, supportive team that shares your passion for outdoor learning.
· A Head Office team that manages recruitment, admissions, invoicing and much of the administration, leaving you more time to lead your team and spend time with children.
· The opportunity to influence the future growth and direction of our nursery.
· Good work-life balance with a 3-day working week and 47 weeks of operation each year.
· Ongoing professional development.
About the role
Working alongside your two Deputy Managers and with the support of our wider Hive team, you'll lead the day-to-day running of the nursery while helping shape its future.
This is a hands-on leadership role. You'll spend your time supporting children, mentoring your team and creating exceptional outdoor learning experiences.
Your responsibilities
You'll:
· Lead the nursery in line with The Hive's values and the Forest School ethos.
· Inspire, support and develop an experienced and enthusiastic team.
· Create a rich, nature-led curriculum based on children's interests and the EYFS.
· Build warm, trusting relationships with families.
· Maintain outstanding standards of safeguarding, health and safety and wellbeing.
· Ensure the nursery consistently delivers high-quality care and education.
· Lead Ofsted inspections alongside the Director and continue developing the nursery following feedback.
· Help shape the future growth of The Hive's nursery provision.
About you
You'll be someone who:
· Has an Early Years Level 3 qualification or Qualified Teacher Status.
· Has a Level 3 Forest School Leader qualification.
· Has experience leading an Early Years team.
· Has a strong understanding of the EYFS and safeguarding.
· Believes children learn best through play, exploration and meaningful experiences in nature.
· Enjoys supporting and developing colleagues.
· Builds positive relationships with children, families and teammates.
· Is calm, organised and able to make good decisions in a busy outdoor environment.
· Brings creativity, warmth and curiosity to your work every day.
Our values
Everything we do is guided by six core values:
- Curiosity
- Connection
- Inclusivity
- Respect
- Resilience
- Sustainability
These values shape every aspect of our work, from how we support children and families to how we care for our team, our communities and the natural world. They are also reflected in our commitment as a Certified B Corporation, meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.
Safeguarding
The Hive is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All appointments are subject to enhanced DBS checks, references, identity and qualification checks, and safer recruitment procedures.
From our team
For me, I would say our nursery has a very special location, tucked away in the woods at Stave Hill, and that we are totally immersed in nature and can experience the flow of the seasons in a way that very few UK nurseries can match. It is almost like a different reality and I often lose track of time, which is a really positive thing to be able to say in our frantic world. I think our disconnection from technology is also pretty unique and counts for a lot when screen-time is so pervasive in many other areas of life. I am happy that we can offer the children who attend the experience of ‘old-fashioned’ childhood outdoor play that is becoming increasingly rare in urban areas.
I think our nursery is a beacon for like-minded people, both parents and staff, which may explain why we enjoy strong team relationships and a supportive parent community. Everyone is very invested in what we’re doing here.
I like coming to work as we have a strong team, and I feel well-supported by my colleagues and by The Hive. I get a great sense of achievement from doing a job that I feel is very valuable and I take pride in the way my resilience, resourcefulness and Forest school skills have risen to the challenge of working in a year-round outdoor nursery.
A lot of the challenges that I faced as a classroom teacher fade away at the Hive Forest School Nursery. And at last, I have an opportunity to put into practice all the theories of learning and play that inspired me to become a teacher in the first place.
We'd love to hear from you
If you're excited by the idea of leading a small outdoor nursery where you'll have the freedom to inspire children, develop a fantastic team and help shape the future of Forest School education, we'd love to hear from you.
To apply, please complete our Job Application form.
If you'd like an informal chat before applying, you're very welcome to get in touch by emailing [email protected]
Pay: £38,000.00-£41,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Private medical insurance
Application question(s):
- To apply for this role, you need to have a Level 3 Forest School Leader qualification. Can you please confirm that you do?
- To apply for this role, you need to have experience of leading and managing a nursery team. Can you please confirm that you do?
- To apply for this role, you need to be a Level 3 Early Years practitioner or to have QTS. Can you please confirm that you have one or the other?
- For successful candidates, could you please confirm that you're happy for The Hive to carry out an enhanced DBS check?
Work Location: In person
