Nursery Head

Sapphires Nursery School is a family-owned, state-of-the-art nursery near Hampton Court, known for building a warm community, providing exceptional care and creating an inspirational educational environment for young children.

Founded on Christian values and inspired by Froebelian principles, we nurture secure attachments and provide children with natural, open-ended learning experiences that give them the best start in life.

Over the last 11 years, our nursery has become a much-loved setting for local families. Our nursery head will play a central role in ensuring our team, culture, standards and operational systems remain strong.

This is a role for a confident, calm and accountable operational leader who enjoys building strong teams, creating clear structures and maintaining consistently high standards of care, safeguarding and education.

You will be supported by an experienced deputy, a strong leadership team and dedicated administration support so that you can focus on leading people, strengthening practice and helping the nursery flourish.

The role

As Nursery Head, you will:

Lead, inspire and develop a committed nursery team.

Create a positive, professional and supportive culture where staff team feel valued and standards remain high.

Oversee excellent safeguarding, care, education and daily practice.

Ensure the nursery runs smoothly through clear systems, strong routines and effective communication.

Build warm and professional relationships with parents, staff team and the wider community.

Work closely with our senior leadership team to ensure the nursery remains operationally strong as the organisation grows.

Champion our Christian ethos and Froebelian approach to early childhood education.

We are looking for someone who

Is a confident, articulate, positive and calm leader of people.

Brings energy, warmth and joy to their team while maintaining clear professional standards.

Has strong organisational and operational leadership skills.

Communicates clearly and professionally with both staff team and parents.

Has excellent attention to detail, particularly around safeguarding, compliance and daily practice.

Is passionate about early childhood education and working with children aged 3 months to 5 years.

Takes pride in running a nursery that is calm, well organised and consistently high quality.

Understands our DNA and is committed to continuous learning and development.

Is excited by the opportunity to contribute to a nursery that is growing thoughtfully and intentionally.

Qualifications and experience

We would ideally like you to have:

An Early Years degree or equivalent senior Early Years qualification.

Experience managing a nursery, or large early years setting.

Experience supporting good or outstanding Ofsted inspections.

Strong knowledge of the EYFS.

An interest in, or willingness to embrace, a Froebelian approach to education.

What we offer

Highly competitive salary.

Bonus incentive.

Excellent tailored training and professional development.

Career progression as our nursery group grows.

Five inset days each year, including a team-building day.

Christmas celebration event.

Employee assistance programme, including access to a virtual GP.

My Staff Shop benefits.

Pension scheme.

28 days' holiday, including bank holidays.

Wellbeing day as part of our reward and recognition policy.

Birthday day-off.

If you are inspired to lead a passionate team dedicated to making a difference in young lives, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Benefits:

Company pension

Free parking

Health & wellbeing programme

Referral programme

Work Location: In person