Step into a senior leadership role where you’ll shape the learning environment, mentor practitioners, and ensure outstanding outcomes for children in a high-quality early years setting. This is a permanent opportunity to lead a room team, drive curriculum excellence, and maintain the highest standards of care and compliance.

About the Role:
As Senior Room Leader, you will take overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of your room, ensuring that children experience a safe, stimulating, and nurturing environment. You will lead curriculum planning in line with EYFS, guide staff practice, and act as a key point of contact for parents and external stakeholders. Your leadership will directly influence children’s progress, staff development, and Ofsted readiness.

Key Responsibilities:
* Lead the daily operation of the room, ensuring routines, activities, and transitions run smoothly and consistently.
* Plan, implement, and review an engaging early years curriculum aligned with EYFS, tailored to individual children’s needs and interests.
* Oversee and quality-check observations, assessments, and learning journeys, ensuring accurate documentation and effective next steps.
* Model and embed positive behaviour management strategies, promoting a supportive, inclusive atmosphere for all children.
* Ensure robust safeguarding and child protection practices are followed, reporting concerns and maintaining accurate records.
* Maintain compliance with Ofsted and EYFS requirements, including room audits, risk assessments, and health and safety checks.
* Lead, coach, and support room staff, providing guidance, feedback, and mentoring to maintain high standards of practice.
* Build and sustain strong communication with parents and carers, sharing children’s progress and addressing queries professionally.
* Liaise with external professionals and stakeholders where required, contributing to multi-agency support for children.

Key Requirements:
* Proven experience in an early years setting, including responsibility for leading a room or supervising staff.
* Strong knowledge of the EYFS framework and practical experience in curriculum planning for children under 5.
* Demonstrable safeguarding and child protection knowledge, with confidence in following policies and reporting procedures.
* Skilled in behaviour management and positive guidance, with the ability to support children’s emotional and social development.
* Experience maintaining regulatory compliance, including Ofsted standards, health and safety, and record-keeping.
* Confident communicator with parents, carers, and colleagues, able to manage sensitive conversations professionally.
* Ability to organise, prioritise, and manage room workload, ensuring high-quality provision is consistently maintained.
* Competent in using nursery documentation systems (paper-based or digital) for planning, observations, and assessments.

Desirable Skills:
* Experience supporting staff appraisals, supervision meetings, or contributing to performance reviews.
* Background in working with children with additional needs and liaising with external agencies.
* Familiarity with a range of pedagogical approaches (e.g. child-led, play-based, forest school) to enrich the curriculum.
* Experience contributing to Ofsted inspections or quality improvement plans within an early years setting.

Qualifications:
* Level 3 or above qualification in Early Years Education/Childcare (e.g. NVQ, CACHE, or equivalent) – essential.
* Up-to-date paediatric first aid certification – preferred.
* Safeguarding and child protection training at an advanced or designated level – preferred.
* Additional CPD in behaviour management, SEND, or curriculum leadership – desirable.

If you’re a confident early years practitioner ready to take a senior lead in the room and drive high-quality practice, we’d like to hear from you. Apply to take the next step in your early years leadership career.