ID: 1843 Early Years Strategic Lead for Quality and Practice
Peterborough pre-schools

Salary: Starting at £32,635 FTE per annum, rising to £36,158 FTE per annum (Pro-rata amount for part-time hours - £26,460 - £29,317)

Location: Peterborough

Hours: 30 hours per week (Part-time and term-time only)

We offer flexible working arrangements - please see below for more details.

Contract: Permanent

Family Action & the Role’s Impact:
At Family Action we support people through change, challenge or crisis. It’s what we’ve done for over 150 years. We protect children, support young people and adults and offer direct, practical help to families and communities.

We see first-hand the power of family to shape lives, for better or worse, so we speak up for the importance of family in national and local policymaking, amplify family voices and represent the changing needs of families in the UK today.

The Early Years Strategic Lead for Quality and Practice role is responsible for driving, embedding and monitoring high-quality early years education and practice across all 5 of Family Actions Peterborough Pre-schools settings. The post holder will lead on quality assurance, curriculum development, workforce development and continuous improvement, ensuring that children receive outstanding early years provision and achieve the best possible outcomes.

Main Responsibilities:
• Lead and oversee quality assurance and continuous improvement activities across all settings, ensuring measurable improvements in practice and outcomes for children.
• Act as the lead specialist in Early Years pedagogy, curriculum development and evidence-informed practice
• Develop and maintain high-quality indoor and outdoor learning environments that promote children's curiosity, independence, inclusion and development.
• Lead and co-ordinate a practice- focused workforce development programme, identifying skills gaps and development needs, delivering coaching and mentoring to Supervisors and Assistants and arranging training as necessary.

Main Requirements (for details check the job description and person specification):
• Educated to at least level three with a recognised professional qualification in Early Years and evidence of a commitment to continuing learning and professional development
• Significant experience working in an early years setting, including a senior or leadership role supporting and developing high-quality EYFS practice
• Experience of leading or contributing to quality assurance and improvement activity (e.g. audits, observations, action planning)
• Experience of line managing staff, including completing supervision and appraisal and managing underperformance.
• Experience of implementing safeguarding and child protection procedures.
• Appointments are subject to Family Action receiving a satisfactory disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service – enhanced with child barred list

Benefits:
- an annual paid leave entitlement that commences at 25 working days, and after a full year of service, rising each April by one day, subject to a maximum of 30 working days plus bank holidays / of 30 working days plus bank holidays
- up to 6% matched-pension contributions
- enhanced paid sick leave and paid family leave provisions
- eye care and winter flu jabs vouchers
- cycle to work scheme
- investing in your professional development with ongoing quality training and career development opportunities

We are forward looking, ambitious and committed to continuous improvement. We are a people focused, can-do organisation, which strives for excellence in all we do and operates with mutual respect.

To Apply:
• Click the ‘Apply’ link below and fill out our digital application form
• Closing Date: 1st September 2026

Interviews are scheduled to take place from w.c 15th September

For any queries, or if you would like to discuss any aspect of the selection process or the potential for flexible working, please email: Helen.Terringtom@family-action.org.uk or Karen.Woodcock@family-action.org.uk

All appointments with Family Action are subject to satisfactory Safer Recruitment checks.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion:
We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process and you will be asked whether you require any adjustments if shortlisted for interview. We also make reasonable adjustments on the job, where required.

We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in all that we do and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Intersectionality is important to us and we welcome applications from ethnically diverse communities, LGBTQIA+ candidates and disabled candidates. We are committed to increasing the representation of these groups at Family Action because we know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for families and children and we strive for our workforce to be truly representative of the diverse communities we support.

All candidates with a disability are welcome to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and request priority consideration for an interview, provided they meet the essential criteria for the role.

To help remove financial barriers to working with us, we will reimburse reasonable travel costs if you are invited to attend an interview in person.

*Ordinarily Family Action appoints new starters at the starting point of the salary scale (with subsequent annual pay progression), unless you have experience that would justify appointment further up the salary scale or there are any other exceptional reasons.