Head of Early Years - Nationwide

Join Partou UK – Helping little minds grow big.

Partou UK is one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing childcare providers, committed to creating nurturing environments where children feel safe, valued and inspired to learn every day. As part of a global group with over 1,000 nurseries worldwide, we’re passionate about education, quality, professional development and continuous improvement.

The Role
As Head of Early Years, you will provide professional and pedagogical leadership across our growing nursery group, ensuring high-quality early years practice is consistently delivered and continuously improved across all settings.

Reporting to the Childcare & Operations Director, you will be accountable for pedagogy, curriculum, quality assurance and inspection readiness. You will work in close partnership with the Head of Operations and Head of Safeguarding to ensure a joined-up, effective approach to quality, compliance and operational delivery.

This is a senior leadership role suited to an experienced early years professional who can operate confidently at scale and influence across functions. You will lead and develop a team of Regional Quality Advisors, ensuring they are effective, consistent and trusted partners to nursery leadership teams.

Key Responsibilities

Pedagogical & Professional Leadership

• Lead and embed a clear, consistent approach to early years pedagogy and curriculum across all nurseries.
• Ensure high-quality practice aligned to the EYFS and Partou’s values is understood and delivered at every level.
• Act as the organisation’s professional authority on early years education, pedagogy, inclusion and quality standards.
• Shape and evolve the early years quality strategy in line with organisational priorities and growth plans.
• Contribute to senior leadership discussions where educational quality, inspection readiness and learning outcomes are key considerations.

Quality Assurance & Inspection Readiness

• Own and lead the quality assurance framework, including internal inspections and ongoing quality monitoring.
• Ensure nurseries are well prepared for inspection, with robust post-inspection improvement planning where required.
• Utilise quality data, inspection outcomes and intelligence from the field to identify key themes, risks and opportunities, and effectively inform quality improvement activity across the group.
• Work collaboratively with Operations to ensure quality improvement activity is realistic, prioritised and impactful.
• Support the integration of newly acquired nurseries, ensuring alignment with Partou’s pedagogical and quality expectations.

Leadership of Regional Quality Advisors

• Ensure Regional Quality Advisors are trained, confident and consistent in carrying out internal inspections, with a clear and shared understanding of standards, expectations and professional judgement.
• Drive consistency in quality visits, reporting and follow-up actions across regions.
• Ensure Advisors operate effectively in a hybrid model, balancing supportive, coaching-led visits with robust internal inspection activity.
• Build a strong, credible quality function that is respected by nursery leaders and works in partnership with Operations and Safeguarding.

Partnership & Cross-Functional Working

• Work closely with the Head of Operations to align quality expectations with operational delivery.
• Collaborate with the Head of Safeguarding to ensure pedagogical practice supports a strong safeguarding culture.
• Contribute to cross-functional working across the Nursery Support Centre, ensuring early years quality is embedded in wider business planning.
• Represent the organisation externally at sector forum and professional networks or events.

What we’re looking for

You will be an experienced early years leader with a strong track record of driving quality at scale. You are confident operating as part of a senior leadership team, able to influence, challenge and support with credibility, integrity and clarity.

You will bring:

• Significant experience leading quality early years education across multiple settings.
• In-depth knowledge of the EYFS and the Early Years Inspection Toolkit.
• Proven experience of leading quality improvement and inspection readiness.
• Experience in line-managing advisors or equivalent roles in a field-based model.
• Strong professional judgement and the ability to balance support with accountability.
• Strong collaboration skills and confidence working as a peer within a senior leadership team.
• A calm, reflective approach, particularly in high-pressure situations.

Why Join Us?
This is your chance to make a real difference – shaping early years quality across a growing organisation that values people, purpose and progress. You’ll have the autonomy to lead, innovate and inspire, while staying connected to what matters most: children’s learning and development. Our benefits include –

• Salary between £75,000 and £80,000 per annum
• Car allowance of £6000 per annum
• 60% childcare discount
• Enhanced maternity/paternity leave
• Pension scheme
• Your birthday off – to celebrate you
• Access to EPIC, our colleague information, reward and recognition platform
• Access to MEDICASH, our Private Medical Insurance Scheme
• Access to our employee assistance programme (EAP)

This role is subject to an enhanced DBS check  

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community

Partou is proud be a part of the National Partnership in Early Learning and Childcare (NPELC) - a group of 10 of the largest childcare providers across England. Together, we operate over 1,300 childcare settings, employ more than 38,000 people, and take care of over 160,000 children.

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