Nursery Management
Permanent deputy nursery manager jobs
Second in command, and usually the person who runs the floor while the manager runs the business.
£30,000 to £37,000 outside London
Guide band for 2026. See how we work these out.
The move from Level 3 to deputy is the biggest single change in an early years career. You stop being measured on your own practice and start being measured on everybody else's.
What the role involves
- Running the setting day to day, and covering the manager's absence in full
- Rotas, ratios and the daily arithmetic of who can be where
- Supervisions, appraisals and the first stage of performance and conduct issues
- Safeguarding, often as deputy designated lead
- Being inspection-ready, and able to evidence practice rather than describe it
- Occupancy, waiting lists and show-rounds in most independent settings
What you will need
- Level 3 minimum, with Level 5 increasingly expected in group settings
- Room leader or senior experience, with proof you have led adults and not only children
- Someone who can be told an inspector is in reception and stay useful
- A permanent commitment: owners hire deputies for years, not months
Also advertised as: Nursery Deputy Manager, Assistant Nursery Manager. Settings use these titles more or less interchangeably, so search for all of them.
Where
Where we recruit this role
We place deputy nursery manager roles across the UK. These are the areas we cover most closely.
Questions
About this role
What does a deputy nursery manager earn?
Our 2026 guide puts this role at £30,000 to £37,000 outside London. Bands assume a 40-hour week and are built from the National Living Wage floor and the published sector median. The full method is on our salary guide.
Is this a permanent role?
Every role we place is permanent. Tiny Tots Recruitment does not run a temp desk and does not offer agency shifts.
What else is this job called?
You will also see it advertised as Nursery Deputy Manager, Assistant Nursery Manager. The qualification and the ratio requirements are the same whichever title a setting uses.
Related
Other roles we recruit
Nursery Manager
Full accountability: the children, the staff, the occupancy, the budget and the inspection.
£34,000 to £46,000 outside London, by setting size
About this roleRoom Leader
Running a room: the children in it, the staff in it, the ratio, the planning and the parents. The first genuinely managerial job in a nursery.
£29,000 to £33,500 outside London
About this roleEarly Years SENCo
The person responsible for how a setting identifies and supports children with additional needs. Usually a lead role held alongside practice.
£29,000 to £35,000 outside London, often as an allowance on practitioner pay
About this roleLooking for a deputy nursery manager role?
Register once and we will come to you when something fits. You will know the setting, the room and the pay before you decide whether to meet them, and your CV goes nowhere without your say-so.