A Faster Route to Stronger Leadership in Your Nursery

Why nurseries are rethinking how leadership develops

Strong nursery leadership does not just influence teams, it shapes quality, retention, consistency, and outcomes across the whole setting.

Yet one challenge continues to surface across the sector:

How do we develop confident leaders quickly enough for the reality of the role?

For many employers, traditional leadership routes remain valuable, but they are not always enough on their own.

The role of Level 5 and where employers tell us the challenge sits

The Level 5 Early Years Lead Practitioner qualification plays an important role in leadership development.

It provides strong professional knowledge, develops understanding over time, and offers an important progression route for aspiring leaders.

For many nursery managers, it remains an essential part of long-term professional development.

But through conversations with nursery owners and managers, we kept hearing the same message:

Knowledge alone does not always create confidence in practice.

Level 5 programmes are typically delivered over 18–24 months, allowing time for structured learning, reflection, and assessment. This depth matters.

However, many employers told us that while staff are progressing through Level 5, they are already leading teams, managing people, and making operational decisions in live nursery environments.

The challenge is not whether Level 5 works.

The challenge is that leadership responsibilities often arrive faster than confidence does.

Why this matters to nursery employers

Today’s nursery leaders are managing far more than practice.

Alongside supporting children and families, they are expected to:

• Lead and motivate teams
• Handle staffing challenges and difficult conversations
• Manage safeguarding and compliance
• Make operational decisions quickly
• Understand the commercial realities of running a nursery

At the same time, the sector continues to experience recruitment and retention challenges. Research consistently highlights that around 30% of the Early Years workforce leaves within the first few years, increasing pressure on providers to develop and retain talent internally.

When confidence in leadership develops slowly, owners often remain more involved than they would like, senior leaders carry additional pressure, and decision-making can become concentrated within a small number of experienced staff.

What employers told us they actually need

When we asked nursery leaders what would help most, the answer was not “more qualifications.”

It was more practical support that develops leadership confidence in real time.

Employers told us they need managers who can:

• Lead teams effectively now, not years later
• Handle people and performance confidently
• Make sound decisions under pressure
• Understand the day-to-day operational side of nursery leadership

In short:

They wanted a way to develop leadership capability alongside qualifications not instead of them.

How Lead & Inspire works alongside Level 5

This is exactly why we developed the Lead & Inspire Early Years Leadership Accelerator Programme.

Lead & Inspire is not a replacement for Level 5.

It is designed to complement it.

Where Level 5 builds professional knowledge and understanding over time, Lead & Inspire focuses on the practical application of leadership in real nursery settings.

Delivered over 10 months, the programme helps managers develop confidence sooner in the areas employers told us matter most:

• Leading teams confidently
• Managing difficult conversations and performance issues
• Strengthening operational and commercial understanding
• Making effective day-to-day decisions
• Building confidence through practical, real-world leadership situations

Importantly, learners also benefit from ongoing support beyond training, through an Early Years leadership network that encourages peer learning, reflection, and continued development.

The result is a stronger connection between qualification, confidence, and real leadership capability.

Why a faster route matters

This is not about rushing leadership development.

It is about helping managers feel effective in the role they are already doing.

When leadership confidence develops earlier, nurseries often see:

• Reduced pressure on owners and senior leaders
• Stronger consistency across teams
• More confident decision-making
• Improved staff progression and retention

For employers, the impact is clear:

The sooner leaders feel capable, the sooner the whole nursery benefits.

Final thought

Level 5 remains a valuable and important route into Early Years leadership.

But qualifications alone are not always enough for the pace and complexity of today’s nursery environment.

The real opportunity for employers is not choosing between knowledge and practical leadership.

It is combining both.

Find out more

Want to explore how the Lead & Inspire Early Years Leadership Accelerator Programme can work alongside Level 5 to strengthen leadership in your nursery?

Download the prospectus or speak to our team to find out more.