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Early Years Room Leader
Pre-School Centre
Location: Bailrigg, Lancaster, UK
Salary: £26,707 to £30,378 (Full time, indefinite)
Closing Date: Sunday 14 June 2026
Interview Date: Tuesday 23 June 2026
Reference: 0126-26-R
Join our amazing Pre-School Centre team, children, and families at Lancaster University
Is this the job for you?
Are you passionate about giving children the very best start in life?
Are you an experienced Early Years professional ready to lead, motivate, and develop a team to deliver outstanding practice?
Do you thrive in a creative, dynamic environment where imagination, play, and learning go hand in hand?
Do you want a career where you can make a real difference every single day while developing others around you?
If the answer is yes, we’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking for a caring, enthusiastic, and motivated Early Years Room Leader who holds a full and relevant Level 3 (or above) Childcare qualification plus a minimum of 2 years post qualification experience in Early Years to join our amazing team.
About Us
At Lancaster University Pre-School Centre, we care for around 200 children aged 3 months to 5 years, providing a nurturing, stimulating, and safe environment where children can learn, explore, and grow.
We’re open for 50 weeks of the year (closed at Easter, Christmas, and on Bank Holidays), and we’re looking to appoint into a Full time 36.5 hours per week vacancy.
What You’ll Be Doing
As a Room Leader and key member of our dedicated and friendly team, you will take a leadership and supervisory role in ensuring high-quality care and education within your designated room
You Will
- Lead and manage the day-to-day organisation and operation of one of our rooms, ensuring high standards of care, learning, and safeguarding are consistently achieved.
- Provide line management, supervision, coaching, and mentoring to Early Years Practitioners, students, and apprentices, supporting their professional development and performance.
- Act as a role model for best practice, supporting staff to deliver high-quality teaching, learning, and interactions in line with EYFS requirements and centre policies.
- Take responsibility for planning, implementing, and evaluating a high-quality curriculum that meets the individual needs of all children.
- Monitor children’s progress, ensuring accurate observations and assessments , ensuring accuracy, consistency, and progression in children’s development.
- Lead on maintaining a safe, inclusive, and stimulating learning environment, ensuring safeguarding, health and safety, and welfare standards are embedded in daily practice.
- Work collaboratively within the senior team to support the continuous improvement of practice, contribute to self-evaluation processes, and implement development plans.
- Build and maintain strong, professional partnerships with families, acting as a senior point of contact for your room and supporting positive outcomes for children.
- Support the operational running of the centre, including contributing to staff deployment, ratio management, and daily room organisation.
Every day will bring opportunities to lead by example, inspire your team, and support children to thrive.
About You
We’re looking for someone who is:
✔ Qualified with a full and relevant Level 3 (or above) childcare qualification: check your qualification here: https://www.gov.uk/check-early-years-qualification
✔ A minimum of 2 years post qualification experience in working within an Early Years setting, with demonstrable experience supporting or supervising staff.
✔ Confident in leading practice, making professional judgments, and supporting quality improvement.
✔ Knowledgeable about the Early Years statutory framework, safeguarding responsibilities, and inclusive practice.
✔ An excellent communicator with strong interpersonal and customer service skills.
✔ Organised, proactive, and able to manage competing priorities within a busy childcare environment.
✔ Committed to continuous professional development for both themselves and their team.
✔ A positive, flexible team player who leads by example.
Why work with us?
- We’re proud of our exceptional team and the positive difference we make every day.
- Fantastic facilities – see for yourself: https://youtu.be/81Aw-nL95qo
- Beautiful campus location – set in green parkland with shops, cafes, a sports centre, and even a post office on-site.
- Supportive community – from staff networks to clubs and groups, there are endless ways to connect.
- Healthy work-life balance – Lancaster University is committed to supporting staff wellbeing.
Ready to make a difference? Apply now to join our dedicated team and help shape the future for the next generation.
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Further Details
Job Description
Person Specification
Please note: unless specified otherwise in the advert, all advertised roles are UK based.
Find out what it’s like to work at Lancaster University, including information on our wide range of employee benefits, support networks and our policies and facilities for a family-friendly workplace.
The University recognises and celebrates good employment practice undertaken to address all inequality in higher education whilst promoting the importance and wellbeing for all our colleagues.
We warmly welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of their age, religion, gender identity or expression, race, disability or sexual orientation, and are committed to promoting diversity, and equality of opportunity.
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