Ducklings Nursery Ltd
Job Title: Deputy Manager
Reports to: Nursery Manager
Responsible for: Room Leaders, Practitioners, Apprentices
Working Hours: Full Time
Salary: Dependent on experience and qualifications
Level: Middle Leadership
Due to expansion onto our new site we are now seeking 3 nursery deputy managers across all our sites - We cannot define which site you will be allocated to until all applications are considered.
Located on the suburbs of Nottingham, our new children’s nursery can be found in the Stapleford Community Pavilion – a new, £7.5million, state-of-the-art building that aims to bring together local people. This is the perfect home for our forward-thinking nursery, and we aim to support their mission of promoting active lifestyles by offering a unique curriculum that places a special focus on sports and physical education.

JOB PURPOSE

The Deputy Manager supports the Nursery Manager in the effective day-to-day leadership of the nursery, with a specific responsibility for high-quality teaching and learning, curriculum implementation, and staff development. This role requires modelling outstanding practice, leading room-based provision, and supporting compliance with the EYFS, safeguarding, and Ofsted requirements.

RESPONSIBILITY AREAS & CORE DUTIES

• Leadership & Vision
• Support the Nursery Manager in maintaining a shared vision for excellence within the nursery.
• Act as the senior lead in the absence of the Nursery Manager.
• Promote a culture of high expectations, professional reflection, and collaborative improvement.
• Champion the ethos and pedagogical values of Ducklings Nursery and the Ducklingo approach.
• Curriculum & Pedagogy
• Lead curriculum implementation across the nursery, ensuring progression, inclusion, and consistency.
• Model outstanding practice in teaching, learning and environment setup.
• Support colleagues to plan, assess and reflect effectively on children’s learning.
• Ensure a strong focus on early communication, language and literacy, including Ducklingo methodology.
• Safeguarding, Welfare & Compliance
• Support the DSL in ensuring safeguarding policies are embedded and understood by all staff.
• Monitor daily safeguarding and welfare logs and escalate concerns as required.
• Maintain the highest standards of hygiene, health and safety within the nursery.
• Ensure appropriate adult:child ratios, supervision and risk assessments are in place.
• Staff Supervision & Professional Development
• Provide coaching, mentoring and on-the-floor support to room leaders and practitioners.
• Lead staff meetings, in-house training, and model best practice throughout the day.
• Contribute to staff supervisions and appraisals with observations and feedback.
• Support induction and the development of apprentices, students and new staff.
• Parent Partnerships & Community Engagement
• Build strong, positive relationships with parents and carers.
• Share regular feedback on children’s learning and support home-school links.
• Assist with parent meetings, stay-and-play sessions, and transitions to school.
• Champion inclusive practices and community engagement initiatives.
• Operational Management
• Support with rota planning, room deployment and smooth daily operations.
• Ensure accurate completion of registers, accident logs, and medication records.
• Assist with the monitoring of iConnect and learning journeys.
• Report concerns promptly to the Nursery Manager and contribute to nursery audits.
• Inclusion, SEND & Equality
• Support the SENCO in implementing inclusive practice and early interventions.
• Model inclusive interactions and adapt provision for individual needs.
• Help track and evaluate outcomes for children with SEND and/or disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Champion equity, diversity and representation in resources and routines.
• Ofsted & Quality Assurance
• Support the Nursery Manager in maintaining inspection readiness.
• Contribute to the Self-Evaluation Form (SEF) and quality improvement plans.
• Lead learning walks, peer observations and curriculum reviews.
• Support staff to evidence their impact and reflect on feedback.
• Communication & Reporting
• Ensure smooth daily communication between staff, parents and leaders.
• Contribute to internal reports, assessments and progress reviews.
• Participate in meetings and maintain accurate written records.
• Escalate any safeguarding or quality issues to the Manager promptly.
• Strategic Development
• Contribute ideas for continuous improvement and nursery development.
• Support pilots or trials of new initiatives or training.
• Share good practice and cascade new knowledge or guidance to staff.
• Step into a leadership role for key projects or areas of development.
  Job Type: Full-time
  Pay: £28,080.00-£30,160.00 per year

Benefits:

• Childcare
• Company events
• Company pension
• Employee discount
• Employee mentoring programme
• Free parking
• On-site parking

Work Location: In perso