Pre-School Manager - Maternity Cover

Role Description

Pre-School Manager – Maternity Cover – Duke of Bedford Pre-School – From April 2026

35 hours per week, Monday to Friday 8.30am – 4.00pm, including 6 hours management time per week.

Minimum Level 3 (grade 7) and a minimum of 2 years relevant experience.

As our Preschool Manager you will deliver high-quality care and education tailored to each child’s individual needs. You’ll lead the daily operations within the Pre-School ensuring a safe, stimulating environment that promotes emotional, physical, and intellectual development. You’ll support the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) pre-school curriculum through engaging adult-led and child-initiated activities, while acting as a positive role model and building strong relationships with children, families, and colleagues. In this role, you will take responsibility for organising the room’s routines and activities, observing and assessing children’s progress, supporting mealtimes, weekly planning, and ensuring safeguarding and health and safety procedures are always followed. You will also be supporting a team of pre-school colleagues while benefitting from the leadership of the schools EYFS lead.

Requirements

To thrive in this role, you’ll need a Level 3 Early Years qualification https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-qualifications-achieved-in-england, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to remain calm and resilient in a busy preschool setting. Experience in a similar role and knowledge of child development, EYFS, and safeguarding practices are essential. You will need to have recent and extensive experience of managing staff in a Deputy or Manager’s role and must be able to demonstrate your ability to undertake management responsibilities. You will also need excellent role model skills to enable you to ensure that staff can deliver outstanding quality care and education for children aged from 2 to 4 years of age.

• Level 3 Early Years qualification
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to remain calm and resilient
• Experience in a similar role
• Knowledge of child development
• Knowledge of EYFS
• Knowledge of safeguarding practices
• Recent and extensive experience of managing staff in a Deputy or Manager’s role
• Excellent role model skills

About the School

The Duke of Bedford Pre-School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. It is a requirement of all staff that they share this commitment and follow the prescribed policy and procedures to continuously promote a culture of safeguarding across the whole organisation.

We can offer you a fabulous rural location just on the periphery of Peterborough. A self-contained building and outdoor garden area within the school grounds. Access to the school playground and field. Support from the EYFS lead, Reception staff and Administration staff. Visits to the setting are welcomed and encouraged

Application Instructions

All applications are subject to relevant checks and a full DBS check.

Application packs are available from the school website or alternatively email [contact hidden]. Please speak to Mrs K Pinguenet. Tel: [contact hidden] if you need any further information.

Key Dates

Closing date: 23rd January 2026

Interviews: Provisionally 4th February 2026