Nursery: Hemsley House Nursery School, Maidstone, Kent, ME16

Hours: Full Time, Monday - Friday
Salary: From £40,000 - £45,000 per annum (dependent on qualifications and experience) plus £1,000 Welcome Bonus 

Benefits: Performance related bonus, 50% childcare discount, wellness day and much much more

Hemsley House spans two beautifully converted Victorian homes in Maidstone, just a 10-minute walk apart. Both buildings have a welcoming, home-from-home feel and are full of original charm, including stunning stained-glass windows.

Our large garden areas offer our children the freedom to explore and enjoy outdoor adventures. With features like a preschool camp area, teepees, a mud kitchen, and climbing equipment, the outdoors becomes an extension of the learning environment.

Inside, our designated preschool classroom supports school readiness in a focused, nurturing setting. Our experienced and passionate team brings a wealth of early years knowledge, tailoring each child’s experience to their pace, needs, and interests.

At Hemsley House, we encourage independence, imagination, and a love of learning every single day—laying strong foundations for a happy and confident future.

Who & What is Storal?  

It’s our collective group of Nurseries that we are happily a part of here at Hemsley House. Storal stands for high quality outcomes for children and are passionate about Early Years. Bringing your whole self is a must if that’s pink hair, being Neurospicy or having a unique pastime, we encourage it all.  Your unique self is what makes our Nursery even better. Check out our website to learn about our leaders and the expertise they bring to our Storal community. 

About the role:

Day to day as a Senior Nursery Manager you will be an intrinsic part of the nursery management team ensuring the setting has the right staff, culture, policies and resources to deliver the highest possible standards of childcare and early years education.

You will manage a large team, and all of the operational elements (fees etc.) required to run a large high capacity nursery school.

You will offer solutions where you identify areas for improvements whether that relates to learning and teaching techniques or, creating more stimulating experiences and environments for the children and their educators. You will embrace inclusivity to ensure the individual needs of all those within your care are achieved.

You will encourage a love of learning through high quality teaching under the EYFS framework, ensuring that all children are kept safe and have rich stimulating experiences. You'll do this by leading, motivating and inspiring the educators, managing ratios through the staff rotas, attracting new hires and providing learning and developing opportunities to the team.

About you

You are a Level 3 or above qualified, experienced Nursery Manager looking for that next step who thrives on leading by example, and inspiring others to be the best that they can be.

You love supporting and encouraging the natural curiosity and excitement of young children, whilst also motivating your team to do the same.

You have a natural, nurturing openness, along with a warm and positive outlook, and you care about learning and education standards for young children in the UK.

Must haves:

• A full and relevant Early Years Education qualification Level 3 or above or equivalent
• Experience in a managerial role including nursery administration or similar
• Extensive experience of managing a large, high occupancy nursery school.
• A strong knowledge and understanding EYFS framework
• Reflecting the Storal values around responsibility, openness and working together and experienced in providing staff training and support
• Demonstrable leadership qualities (ideally within Early Years)
• Excellent communication skills with both children and adults

Why work for us: 

£1,000 Welcome Bonus

Why work for us: 

Benefits That Support You — At Every Stage

Parental Leave
Becoming a parent is a special time. That’s why we offer 52 weeks of parental leave to both mums and dads, with 6 weeks at full pay.
When you’re ready to return, we’ll support you with 100% childcare discount for your child’s first six weeks, and 50% until they start primary school.

Wellness Day & Headspace
Some days are harder than others — take your annual wellness day and enjoy some downtime.
Plus, enjoy free access to the Headspace app to support your wellbeing, with tools for sleep, stress, mindfulness, and more.

Compassionate Leave
Life doesn’t always go to plan. We offer 3 days of paid compassionate leave for bereavement or family emergencies, so you can take the time you need to heal or be with loved ones.

Holidays
Whether it’s a city break or your annual family trip, we help you take the time you need.
After 2 years with us, you'll get 2 extra days of leave — and 3 extra days after 5 years.

Shoes & Trainer Discount
You’re on your feet a lot — comfort matters. Get 25% off trainers and shoes at sportshoes.com each year.

Champneys Spa Discount
Indulge in some real relaxation with a 75% discount at one of Champneys' amazing wellness spas — perfect for your wellness day!

Counselling & Therapy
Through Vitality, you and your immediate family have access to unlimited 24/7 counselling and six annual in-person therapy sessions.

Sick Pay & Flu Vouchers
We’ll top up your sick pay to full pay for up to 7 days if you’re off for more than a week.
And every year, you can claim a free flu shot through our Get Well This Winter campaign.

Active Discounts
Take care of your body and mind.

We care about our people.  

 Curious to know more?

We’d love to tell you more about what makes Hemsley House so special.

 Storal is the highest of standards when it coming to safeguarding, the welfare of children and creating a work environment the encourages feedback-discussion-resilience. We take our role in the safety of children, our families and our team extremely seriously. As governed by the EYFS, we have a designated safeguarding lead in each setting and all staff (and volunteers) complete a through compliance checks prior to employment including employment references & DBS.   

#INDEYE