COM26-26-R2 - Nursery Manager

Nursery Manager

Location: Nursery and Forest School, Stoke Campus

Salary: £33,482 to £38,249 Per Annum – Full Time Permanent

Release Date: Tuesday 21 April 2026

Closing Date: Tuesday 05 May 2026

Reference: COM26-26-R2

About The Role

We’re looking for an experienced and passionate Nursery Manager to lead the day to day operation of our University nursery. You’ll provide strong leadership to our childcare team, ensuring a high quality, nurturing environment for children and a supportive, engaging experience for families.

This role is central to driving continuous improvement, maintaining high standards of care and education in line with EYFS and Ofsted requirements, and ensuring the nursery runs smoothly, safely, and effectively.

About The Nursery

Woodlands Day Nursery is an Ofsted‑rated “Good” nursery providing full day care for children aged 0–5 years, welcoming children of university staff, students and the local community.

Located within landscaped surroundings on the University’s Stoke‑on‑Trent campus, Woodlands offers a unique nursery and forest school environment, blending high‑quality early years practice with outdoor learning and exploratory play.

The nursery is supported by a highly qualified staff team, with all Early Years Educators qualified to Level 3 or above, and delivers play‑based learning in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Children and families are at the heart of everything we do, and the nursery prides itself on providing a warm, inclusive and forward‑thinking childcare service.

Main Responsibilities

• Oversee the daily running of the nursery, ensuring compliance with EYFS, Ofsted, safeguarding and all statutory regulations.
• Lead, supervise and develop the staff team through effective performance management, training, and mentoring.
• Monitor and enhance the quality of early years provision, including observations, assessment practices, and support for children with SEND.
• Build strong relationships with parents and carers, addressing concerns and encouraging active family participation.
• Manage occupancy, waiting lists and nursery promotion, including tours, events and open days.
• Oversee financial processes such as budgeting, invoicing and fee collection.
• Support strategic planning, service improvement and contribution to Ofsted readiness.

Apply online with a copy of your CV. We reserve the right to close the vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date and therefore encourage you to make an early application.

Contact For Informal Discussion

For an informal discussion about this role, please contact Amanda Sherratt – Head of Childcare and Family Services: A.J.Sherratt@staffs.ac.uk

Benefits

In return for your contributions to the work of our University, you'll be based from one of our industry leading campuses, enjoying a range of benefits exclusive to members of our community and contributing to our vision, value and culture.

Our Commitment to Inclusion

Staffordshire University is committed to promoting and enabling a positive culture where staff, students and visitors are confident to be their authentic selves. We focus on inclusion as a way to ensure equality of opportunity for all our people and to demonstrate our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Human Rights.

We promote applications from all sections of the community, regardless of background, belief or identity, recognising the benefits a diverse organisation can bring for the University.

We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, who are currently under‑represented in the University workforce.

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