Why So Many New Managers Feel Unprepared, And What Actually Helps

Stepping into leadership is a bigger shift than many expect

Moving into a management role in Early Years is a significant transition.

Practitioners who feel confident delivering high-quality care and education are suddenly responsible for something very different, leading teams, making decisions, and managing the wider operation of a nursery.

That shift is where confidence is often tested.

For many, the move into leadership happens quickly, often because they are strong practitioners rather than because they feel fully prepared for the responsibilities that come with managing people, performance, and operations.

What the sector is telling us

This experience is not isolated. Sector insight and employer feedback consistently highlight the same challenges:

• Around 30% of the Early Years workforce leaves within the first few years, impacting progression and stability
• Many new managers report feeling underprepared for leadership in their first 6–12 months
• Confidence in people management, performance conversations, and operational decision-making takes time to develop in practice

The key challenge is not knowledge. Most new managers have completed relevant qualifications and understand the theory.

The challenge is applying that knowledge in real nursery environments, where decisions are immediate, pressures are constant, and leadership is highly visible.

Why we developed the Lead & Inspire Early Years Leadership Accelerator

The Lead & Inspire Early Years Leadership Accelerator Programme was created directly in response to what we were hearing from across the sector.

Qualifications such as Level 5 remain an important foundation. They build essential knowledge, understanding, and professional grounding.

However, learners and employers consistently told us the same thing:

Knowing something and doing it confidently in a live nursery setting are very different.

Many new leaders needed more than theory. They needed structured, practical support that reflected the reality of the role they were stepping into.

That is where Lead & Inspire was designed to make a difference.

Where new managers feel the pressure most

Across conversations with nursery leaders, the same pressure points appear repeatedly:

• Managing difficult staff conversations
• Handling performance and behaviour issues
• Making decisions under pressure
• Understanding the operational and business side of the nursery

These are not classroom topics. They are daily leadership responsibilities that shape team culture, quality, and outcomes.

Without support, these areas can take years to develop confidently through experience alone.

How the Lead & Inspire programme addresses this

The Lead & Inspire programme is a 10-month leadership accelerator, designed specifically for Early Years settings.

Rather than focusing solely on theory, it develops leadership capability through practical application in real nursery contexts.

It supports learners to:

• Apply leadership learning directly to real workplace scenarios
• Build confidence through structured reflection and guided practice
• Strengthen decision-making in day-to-day operational situations
• Develop people management skills earlier and more effectively
• Understand how nurseries operate as both settings and businesses

Importantly, the programme also includes ongoing support beyond training, through a network of Early Years leaders. This ensures development continues after formal learning has finished, helping leaders embed confidence over time rather than losing momentum once a course ends.

What actually makes the difference

Confidence in leadership does not come from knowledge alone.

It develops through experience, reflection, and the opportunity to apply learning with the right support in place.

What the Lead & Inspire programme aims to do is accelerate that process, reducing the gap between stepping into leadership and feeling confident within it.

For employers, this means new managers become capable contributors sooner, rather than spending extended periods learning purely through trial and error.

The impact for new leaders and employers

When supported effectively, new managers typically become:

• More confident in decision-making
• More capable in handling people and performance
• More effective in day-to-day leadership
• More independent in operational responsibility

For nurseries, this leads to:

• Reduced pressure on owners and senior leaders
• More consistent team performance
• Stronger leadership stability across the setting
• Improved overall operational flow

Final thought

Feeling unprepared is not a reflection of ability, it is a reflection of how complex the transition into leadership has become.

The question for the sector is no longer whether new managers are capable.

It is whether we are supporting them in a way that builds confidence fast enough for the reality of the role.