Deputy Nursery Manager

• School House, Colchester Academy, Hawthorne Avenue, Essex, CO4 3JN
  
• Full time - 36 hours
  
• £29,245 per annum
  

Just Imagine Colchester Day Nursery is a beautiful converted house nursery, rated Outstanding by Ofsted (November 2022). We provide a warm, home‑from‑home environment where children feel safe, supported and ready to thrive. The nursery is located on Hawthorn Avenue via Acacia Avenue, based on the school grounds of Colchester Academy, offering a well‑established setting at the heart of the local community.

Why Join Us?

At Family First, we value our team members and offer a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Generous Annual Leave: 24 days to start, plus bank holidays and your birthday off – paid!
  
• Childcare Discount: 75% off nursery fees for your little ones
  
• Health & Wellbeing Support: Confidential employee assistance helpline
  
• Career Growth: Personalised learning and development opportunities
  
• Refer a Friend: Earn up to £750 with our referral scheme*
  

Room Leader duties and responsibilities:

• Lead the room to deliver engaging, age‑appropriate learning experiences
  
• Support children’s physical, emotional, social and intellectual development
  
• Role model best practice and support staff development and consistency
  
• Oversee high‑quality learning records and systems (EyLog/EyMan)
  
• Ensure the safety, wellbeing and EYFS compliance at all times
  

Room Leader requirement and skills:

• Full and relevant Level 3 in Childcare qualification - Essential
  
• Over 1 year’s experience working in Early Years - Essential
  
• Sound knowledge of Ofsted expectations to achieve a Good or Outstanding rating - Desirable
  
• Knowledge of the statutory framework for the EYFS and regulatory requirements - Essential
  
• Fluent in written and spoken English - Essential
  

We are committed to safeguarding and protecting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.  A Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate will be required for all posts. This post will be subject to enhanced checks as part of our Safeguarding Duty.

Just Imagine Colchester Day Nursery is part of the Family First Group where we take great care to treat everyone as a person, with equal rights and responsibilities to any other individual, whether they are an adult or a child. We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children and families according to their individual needs. Discrimination on the grounds of gender, age, race, religion or belief, marriage or civil partnership, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, ethnic or national origin, or political belief has no place within the Family First Group.