Pre-School Manager - Maternity Cover

The Duke of Bedford Primary School, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE6 0ST

15 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  April 2026

• Closing date

  23 January 2026 at 12pm (midday)

• Date listed

  19 December 2025

Job details

• Job role:
  • Other support roles
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time: 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday 8.30am – 4.00pm, including 6 hours management time per week.
• Contract type: Fixed term - Maternity - Maternity or parental leave cover
• Pay scale: NJC

What skills and experience we're looking for

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.

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.

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.

What the school offers its staff

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

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

Application packs are available from the school website or alternatively email paula.pepper@dukeofbedford.net. Please speak to Mrs P Pepper. Tel: 01733 270243 if you need any further information.

Closing date: 23rd January

Interviews: Provisionally 4th February

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.

Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.

Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children

You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

Applying for the job

Apply for the job by following the link below.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About The Duke of Bedford Primary School

• School type: Local authority maintained school, ages 4 to 11
• Education phase: Primary school
• School size: 221 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 4 to 11
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: The Duke of Bedford Primary School website
• Email address: paula.pepper@dukeofbedford.net
• Phone number: 01733 270243
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/the-duke-of-bedford-primary-school

The Duke of Bedford Primary School is set in the historic village of Thorney, a rural community about seven miles from Peterborough. The village contains many attractive and historic buildings including a fine abbey and even its own museum. There has been a settlement here for hundreds of years. The majority of the children who attend the school come from the village itself, Whilst this is very much a rural community, the school takes an active part in events that take place in Peterborough and values
its involvement with other local schools.

Arranging a visit to The Duke of Bedford Primary School

To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email paula.pepper@dukeofbedford.net.

School location

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