Nursery Room Leader in London

Our client is a brand new, boutique nursery opening in Barnes in January 2027, founded by a former nursery teacher turned child therapist with a masters in play therapy. They're looking for an experienced Room Leader to help launch a calm, attachment-informed setting from the ground up, leading a team of practitioners and setting the standard for care from the very first day.

This is a genuinely rare opportunity to shape a nursery before it opens, rather than stepping into someone else's way of doing things. You will have real input into how the room runs, how the team develops and how the setting's values, strong relationships, thoughtful environments, and a deep respect for each child's emotional development, come to life in practice. The building itself is filled with natural light and has been designed with real care.

On offer is a salary of £39-41k depending on experience, a month of paid training ahead of opening, and genuine leadership responsibility in a nursery built around reflective, relationship-centred practice.

Working pattern: Full-time, Monday to Friday, with shift patterns of 7:30am-4:30pm or 9am-6pm. On-site training and induction will start in December ahead of the January 2027 opening.

Key responsibilities:

• Leadership: Lead, motivate and support a team of practitioners within your room, modelling outstanding early years practice and mentoring less experienced staff.
• Room standards: Ensure the room is well organised and welcoming, monitoring the quality of practice and driving continuous improvement as the nursery finds its feet.
• Teaching and learning: Lead high-quality teaching through play, planning experiences that reflect each child's interests and developmental needs.
• Relationships and wellbeing: Act as a key person, building secure, trusting relationships with children and their families, and supporting emotional wellbeing through responsive, relationship-centred practice.

About you:

• Qualification: Min. Level 3 qualified in Early Years.
• Experience: Previous experience in a nursery or early years setting is essential, along with previous experience managing and leading a team, and being confident enough to role-model good practice from day one.
• Language and communication: A highly fluent English speaker, with strong communication skills that support children's language development and build real confidence with parents.
• Knowledge: Confident safeguarding knowledge and a solid understanding of the EYFS framework.
• Approach: Warm, patient, resilient and proactive, comfortable with the teething issues of helping a brand new setting get established, and genuinely passionate about early years.

What's in it for you:

• Salary of £39-41k, depending on qualifications and experience.
• A rare opportunity to lead a room and help shape a new nursery from its opening day.
• Wellbeing support and supervision embedded into the staff culture.
• Ongoing training and professional development opportunities, backed by a dedicated annual training budget.
• 26 days annual leave (including public holidays), rising by a day for each year served up to five years, plus nursery closure between Christmas and New Year.

Your recruiter for this role is Steve Brennan, Recruitment Director at Love Childcare Recruitment, and can be contacted simply by applying for the role below.