The Link Between Strong Leadership and Staff Retention in Nurseries

Why staff retention is about more than salary

Recruitment and retention remain some of the biggest challenges facing Early Years settings.

Across the sector, nursery employers continue to navigate staffing shortages, increasing operational pressure, and rising expectations around quality and consistency. While conversations often focus on pay, funding, and workload, there is another factor that increasingly shapes whether people stay in a setting long term:

Leadership.

Because although salary matters, people are far more likely to remain in environments where they feel supported, valued, listened to, and part of a stable team culture.

For nurseries, this matters enormously.

When experienced practitioners leave, the impact is rarely limited to recruitment costs alone. Continuity for children is disrupted, team morale can dip, and pressure often increases for the people who remain.

The challenge is significant.

Sector reporting continues to show that around 25–30% of Early Years professionals leave within the first few years, creating an ongoing cycle of recruitment and instability for many providers.

The question many nursery employers are now asking is:

What actually makes people stay?

The hidden influence of leadership on retention

When people think about staff retention, leadership is not always the first thing that comes to mind.

But increasingly, nursery leaders tell us it should be.

Because in practice, leadership shapes the day-to-day experience of work.

It influences how supported people feel, how challenges are handled, and whether individuals feel confident and secure in their role.

Strong leadership is not simply about policies, targets, or hierarchy.

In a nursery environment, it often shows up in much smaller moments:

• A manager checking in after a difficult day.
• A team member feeling safe enough to raise a concern.
• Feedback being handled constructively rather than critically.
• Consistency in decision-making during busy periods.
• Feeling listened to rather than overlooked.

These moments shape culture more than many organisations realise.

And culture plays a major role in retention.

Research across workplace engagement consistently shows that employees are significantly more likely to stay where relationships with managers are positive and where support feels visible and consistent.

In Early Years settings, where teamwork and emotional labour are such important parts of the role, this influence becomes even stronger.

What nursery leaders told us

In round table discussions with nursery owners and managers, a clear pattern emerged.

Settings with confident, well-supported leaders often described more stable teams and fewer staffing challenges.

Many reported that when managers felt confident handling difficult conversations, performance concerns, or team dynamics, issues were resolved earlier and relationships tended to remain stronger.

Around 70% of nursery leaders we spoke to directly linked leadership confidence to stronger retention outcomes.

Why?

Because teams notice leadership quickly.

When managers feel uncertain, teams often experience inconsistency. Communication can become unclear, difficult conversations may be delayed, and owners may need to step back into day-to-day management more frequently.

Over time, this can create frustration and instability.

The opposite is also true.

When managers feel confident and supported, teams often feel calmer, more secure, and more connected to the nursery.

Leadership confidence has a ripple effect.

The leadership gap many nurseries are facing

One of the challenges in Early Years is that many nursery managers step into leadership because they are exceptional practitioners.

They understand children, practice, and quality provision.

But leadership requires a different set of skills.

Suddenly, the role shifts towards managing people, navigating conflict, communicating clearly, balancing operational demands, and making decisions under pressure.

These are not skills that always develop naturally before promotion.

Qualifications such as the Level 5 Early Years Lead Practitioner Apprenticeship provide valuable knowledge and an important professional foundation.

But employers consistently tell us something important:

Knowledge alone does not always create confidence in practice.

Many managers know what strong leadership looks like.

The challenge is feeling confident enough to apply it in real situations, especially during difficult conversations, staffing challenges, or high-pressure moments.

And confidence takes time.

Without structured support, many leaders develop through trial and error.

For nurseries already under pressure, that timeline can feel slow.

How Lead & Inspire helps strengthen leadership and retention

This is one of the reasons the Lead & Inspire Early Years Leadership Accelerator Programme was developed.

The programme was designed specifically around the realities nursery leaders told us they face every day.

Rather than focusing solely on theory, it helps managers strengthen confidence in the practical side of leadership, the moments that most directly shape team culture and retention.

Delivered over 10 months, the programme supports leaders to build confidence in areas such as communication, managing people, handling difficult conversations, decision-making, and understanding the wider operational side of nursery leadership.

Crucially, it also recognises something many programmes overlook:

Leadership confidence does not stop developing once training ends.

That is why learners also benefit from ongoing support and access to an Early Years leadership network, helping them continue learning, reflecting, and growing alongside peers in similar roles.

As Jack Edwards explains:

“Retention is rarely about one single factor. But leadership sits right at the centre of it. When managers feel confident, teams feel it straight away.”

Why this matters for nursery employers

For nursery employers, investing in leadership development is not simply about progression.

It is about creating the conditions where people want to stay.

When leadership becomes stronger, nurseries often begin to experience greater consistency, clearer communication, improved morale, and reduced pressure on owners and senior leaders.

Most importantly, they begin building environments where teams feel supported and support is one of the strongest foundations for retention.

Because ultimately, people do not just stay for pay.

They stay for leadership that helps them thrive.

Find out more

Want to explore how the Lead & Inspire Early Years Leadership Accelerator Programme could strengthen leadership confidence and improve team stability in your nursery?

Download the prospectus or get in touch to find out more.