This nursery was deliberately built bigger than it needed to be.
That isn't marketing language. It was part of the design.
Rather than squeezing the maximum number of children into the minimum amount of space, the building was purpose-built around children having room to move, explore, choose resources independently and develop confidently.
Tiny Tots Recruitment is now looking for an experienced Nursery Manager in Houghton Regis to lead the setting.
And with around 79 registered places, four age-specific areas and a sizeable team, this is a proper management role.
The nursery
Think light, space and purpose-built provision rather than a converted house with rooms adapted afterwards.
The setting has separate environments for:
Babies Including their own sleep area, changing facilities and milk kitchen.
1 to 2-year-olds
2 to 3-year-olds
3 to 5-year-olds
Rooms have child-height facilities, low windows, accessible resources and age-specific equipment designed to encourage children to make choices for themselves.
Outside, things get even more interesting.
The nursery has its own Woodland Retreat, where children can plant vegetables, go on nature hunts and even take part in carefully supervised campfire experiences without leaving the nursery grounds.
That's the environment you'd be responsible for leading.
Your job isn't to run one room well
It's to make sure all of them work.
You'll take responsibility for the whole nursery, including:
Leading and motivating the early years team Maintaining consistently strong care and education Making sure safeguarding remains embedded in everyday practice Overseeing effective staffing and deployment Supporting Room Leaders and senior practitioners Conducting supervision and helping staff develop Monitoring the quality of teaching and children's experiences Ensuring planning and assessment remain purposeful Maintaining compliance with the EYFS and Ofsted requirements Building strong relationships with parents and carers Supporting children with SEND and additional needs Working effectively with external professionals Managing nursery records, policies and operational requirements Identifying what needs improving and actually following it through Creating a culture where practitioners understand why standards matter
You need to be the person who can see the nursery as a whole without losing sight of the individual child inside it.
There's a strong community element here too
This setting isn't isolated from the services around it.
The nursery has established links with the local children's centre, health visitors, speech and language therapists and the Central Bedfordshire SENCO team.
For a Manager, that's valuable.
Particularly when you're supporting a child with emerging developmental concerns, you want relationships with outside professionals to already exist rather than having to build everything from scratch.
Their approach to learning
The nursery follows a natural, curiosity-led curriculum built around a home-from-home approach.
There is an emphasis on wooden and natural resources, child-led exploration and outdoor play rather than filling every room with brightly coloured plastic equipment.
Children's development is monitored by practitioners and communicated regularly with families, with additional support introduced where gaps in learning are identified.
As Manager, you'd be responsible for making sure that philosophy isn't just something written on the website.
It needs to be visible in what practitioners actually do.
What we're looking for
This role would suit an experienced:
Nursery Manager Strong Deputy Nursery Manager ready for full responsibility Senior early years leader with significant operational experience
You'll need:
A full and relevant Level 3 Early Years qualification as a minimum Strong nursery leadership experience Excellent knowledge of the EYFS Confident safeguarding knowledge Experience managing and developing staff Good understanding of Ofsted requirements Confidence working with parents and external professionals Strong organisation and decision-making skills The ability to improve practice without destroying team morale
Most importantly, you need to enjoy developing people.
A nursery this size doesn't succeed because the Manager personally does everything.
It succeeds because the Manager creates a team capable of doing things well when they're not standing beside them.
A setting with some history behind it
The nursery has been operating for more than 20 years, with the company itself incorporated in 2002 and the setting registered with Ofsted since 2004.
It also holds the Healthy Child Healthy Workforce Accreditation, which focuses on good practice around children's and staff wellbeing.
Previous inspection evidence specifically noted regular staff supervision and managers supporting practitioners to assess their practice and access further training.
The essentials £32,000 to £35,000 per year Permanent, full-time leadership role Monday to Friday setting Purpose-built 79-place nursery Four distinct age-group environments Extensive outdoor space Dedicated Woodland Retreat Established community and professional links Natural, curiosity-led curriculum Staff supervision and development culture Long-established independent nursery
If you're looking for a Nursery Manager job in Houghton Regis, nursery management role near Dunstable or senior early years job close to Luton, we'd love to hear from you.
Apply today through Tiny Tots Recruitment for a confidential conversation about the opportunity.