Nursery Manager - Maternity Contract

Les Petites Etoiles - Paddington

Fixed-term contract to start ASAP for a period of 18 months.

Salary from £42,000 to £47,000

Enjoy 7 weeks of paid holiday

Les Petites Etoiles - Paddington is part of a private bilingual nursery group that provides high-quality care and education for children aged 8 months to 4 years. Paddington has an exceptional opportunity for a fixed-term Contract Manager to join.

As our current manager is going on maternity leave, we are looking for a talented individual to join our team and take over her duties, with a handover period.

This role would be suitable for:

• an aspiring manager with at least one year of experience as manager, or a deputy manager with at least 3 years’ experience in an early years setting looking for a leading role in a highly educational nursery with great opportunities for training and development.

At Les Petites Etoiles Paddington, we pride ourselves on providing excellent teacher ratios and care for children in three age groups. We are passionate about offering a nurturing and stimulating environment for our young learners. Our nursery works with the EYFS/Montessori blended curriculum in English and French, with the introduction of Mandarin, phonics and maths from the beginning. We benefit from large spaces and excellent resources in a rich continuous provision and well-resourced Montessori environment. We take children to the nearby park daily as we do not have a playground.

We also prioritise staff well-being by providing healthy, balanced meals and complimentary lunches. With 7 weeks of paid holiday, this is a remarkable chance to join a fantastic team and positively impact the lives of young children.

Very often, maternity cover roles optionally evolve to more permanent roles with the nursery group at the end of the contracted period, depending on the strength and competences of the applicant and the nursery group’s current needs.

Requirements:

• A positive individual who loves working in a team
• Someone with good self-reflection and passion for best practice.
• Strong organisational and leadership skills.
• Experienced in team management.
• Experienced in partnership with parents.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Holding a clear DBS

Job specification:

Overall responsibility for the nursery, responsibility for Health & Safety &the EYFS welfare requirements, all staff, communication with parents, implementing and leading on policies & procedures. This role is supernumerary and does not involve working regularly directly with the children.

Below are various areas of responsibility with examples of key duties (this list is not exhaustive).

Parents as partners

The parents of the children we are caring for are our customers. Many have questions, some need a lot of reassurance, and all are to be respected and listened to. A fantastic manager earns their trust. Childcare happens in partnership with the parents and is responsive to their needs and expectations.

Examples:

• Showing potential new parents around the nursery and answering their questions.
• The manager has ultimate responsibility for talking to parents from when children first arrive/settle with us to when they leave.

• The manager deals with queries and solves problems for parents where appropriate.
• Preparing and sending newsletters, updates and guidance on various subjects.

The leadership of the team:

A team needs a leader who will guide them and help them. As a manager, you will help the team deliver consistently outstanding childcare. A great manager helps bring out the best in people.

Examples:

• To be a line manager and provide support and supervision to all other members of staff, junior staff and volunteers. Carrying out regular staff supervision and recording as appropriate, as well as conducting twice-yearly appraisals.
• To guide the nursery practitioners to follow best-practice within our blended approach and our policies and procedures.
• To check the planning and delivery of our curriculum, and help the team find time for weekly planning meetings and non-contact time.
• Recognising the strengths of each member of staff and supporting them with their areas for improvement.
• To ensure that our vision is met.

Excellent Organisation

A nursery thrives on great organisation. The organisation of the manager makes all the difference. This ensures everything important is achieved on time, and in the correct way.

Examples:

• The manager must ensure they have a reasonable knowledge and understanding of current relevant legislation in relation to childcare.
• To ensure the nursery, staff, policies & procedures comply with OFSTED & other statutory requirements.
• Ensuring our menus are followed, and that any nutritional, religious or dietary needs are met and allergies are carefully controlled.
• The planning and filing of relevant records including the keeping of children's personal details for emergency purposes, the keeping of an accident record file, attendance register, outings records file, medicine records file, and any other mandatory records including receiving and noting fees and invoices to parents.
• Updating the register and other spreadsheets to assist with bills to parents.
• Many other general administrative tasks range from paying cheques into the bank account, dealing with all telephone calls, ordering supplies & food, filing bills, maintenance of employees or student files, Health & Safety including risk-assessments, fire drills records, food temperature records, first aid box, and conducting the fire drill.
• Completing the standard monthly action plan, and also devising and following up new action plans as required.
• A key responsibility is ensuring the nursery operates at our target occupancy.
• Any other administrative duties, as required by the needs of the Nursery

Ensuring safeguarding & welfare

Nothing can be more important than keeping the children safe.

Examples:

• Ensuring our safeguarding policy is followed: our policy is never to have only one member of staff alone with the children in a room/space – reminding everyone and making certain that there are always two people in the room with children at all times, and that no mobile phones are used at any time.
• Conduct (or supervise and delegate) daily risk assessments, as well as various other assessments at various intervals.
• Overseeing the planning and delivery of relevant records and developmental reports in relation to children's individual progress. Ensuring that regular half-yearly meetings are arranged with parents to deliver a written and verbal report by key persons/room leaders. Reports are to be signed and filed.

Required Qualifications:
Minimum Level 3 (with Montessori training preferred) if promoted internally.

Otherwise:
Mandatory: minimum Level 3 (with Montessori training preferred)

Preferred: Level 5, Level 6 (BA Degree in Early Years), or EYTS/EYPS

At least a B in GCSE English
At least a C in GCSE Maths

Required Experience:

Minimum 1-year experience as a deputy manager in one of our nurseries, or minimum three years’ experience as a deputy manager elsewhere or one year as a manager elsewhere.

Required Skills:

• Leadership skills
• Thorough knowledge of the EYFS
• Relationship with staff
• Effective communication with parents
• Modelling best practice
• Good level of spoken and written English. This is an absolutely required skill. With good spoken and written English. Our nurseries specialise in language skills, and ability here is an absolute “must”. All applicants will have a written English test.
• Competent IT skills (Word, simple Excel)

Required emotional characteristics

• Confidence as a leader
• Great listening skills
• Stable and dependable
• Problem-solving & a positive can-do attitude
• Resilient (strong) yet also caring and great empathy
• Able to take constructive criticism
• Able to be self-reflective to improve constantly

Culture & Values

• Nearly all our staff recommend us to their friends (93%)
• “It’s a great team and well-organised nursery”
• “The positivity of the team and the support from management.”
• “The work philosophy is amazing and you can feel it in the setting. This nursery really appreciates their team, listens to them and prioritises their wellbeing.”
• “I feel trusted by the managing team, I can research and choose my own training, my team of colleagues is fantastic and everyone shows a lot of empathy.”

• “I love the workplace harmony – caring colleagues and management. Another point is professional growth – the management will push you to achieve your full potential”
• “Home away from home.”

Safeguarding

Children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind.

We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them.

All references will be thoroughly checked and we will apply for a DBS update service as well as request a DBS equivalent from any country the applicant was in prior to the UK and within the last 5 years.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunity employer and consider all qualified applicants equally without regard to age, gender reassignment, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, disability, race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.