Career
Pathways
With opportunities across the South West and Wales, including remote roles and positions at our Support Centre in Cornwall, where will your career take you?
Career Pathways
A career in Early Years opens the door to numerous opportunities. As a growing company, with a passion to ‘grow our own’ and promote within, there are a variety of roles available and an abundance of career progression opportunities.
The sky’s the limit with a career at Happy Days – take a look at the career pathway you can take…
Early Years Apprentice
An apprenticeship in Early Years is a fantastic way to kick start a career in childcare. Early Years Apprentices learn on the job, balancing their working time between on-the-job training with our experienced team members and mentors, and completing the written and theory part of their studies in order to obtain an industry-recognised early years qualification. As an Early Years Apprentice, you will be supported by a dedicated tutor as well as our vastly experienced Nursery team members. You will have the opportunity to assist in the daily care, education and development of children, and gain an understanding of nursery policies and procedures.
Qualified Nursery Practitioner
As a Level 3 Qualified Nursery Practitioner, you will be responsible for supporting your Key Children, observing them at play and planning engaging activities to encourage their next steps, whilst continually assessing their progress and development. As a Qualified Nursery Practitioner, you will make up part of our legally required qualified staff ratio. You will foster partnerships with parents and carers as well as other professionals to ensure the needs of the children are continually met.
Room Supervisor
For those practitioners aspiring to a career in leadership and management, our Room Supervisor position is the next step. You will take leadership and management responsibilities of your allocated room in the nursery, as well as contributing to the overall running of the setting. In this role you will have the opportunity to role model, and mentor staff, acquiring leadership and management skills that will enable you to progress into the Nursery’s senior management team.
Senior Room Supervisor
Our Senior Room Supervisors play a pivotal role in the leadership and management of our settings, often taking on additional responsibilities and specialisms, such as SEND, Health and Safety and Mentoring. Supporting the Deputy Manager and Nursery Manager with the opening and closing of the setting and, on occasion, running the nursery for periods of time.
In this role you will gain the experience, and skills needed to become a Deputy Nursery Manager of the future.
Deputy Nursery Manager
The role of Deputy Nursery Manager is varied, and exciting. Supporting the Nursery Manager with the day to day operations of the Nursery setting, mentoring and role modelling with our staff teams, managing colleagues and running the nursery in the absence of the Manager. In this role you will learn the skills and attributes, as well as the legal and statutory requirements needed to become a Nursery Manager.
Nursery Manager
As a Nursery Manager, you will be responsible for the running of the entire nursery, including colleague management, commercial and budget management, marketing and occupancy, delivering high-quality education and meeting our regulatory compliance obligations.
Our Nursery Managers inspire their teams to deliver our SHINE Values each and every day.
Alternative Roles Available
There are many different roles at our Support Centre in Cornwall as well as numerous opportunities to work remotely to provide the best possible support and guidance to all our settings.
Finance
Finance Assistant
Finance Officer
Payroll Officer
Management Accountant
Financial Controller
Finance Director
Sales & Marketing
Nursery Enrolment Partner
Digital Marketing Executive
Marketing Manager
Head of Sales & Marketing
HR
HR/Recruiment Administrator
Compliance Administrator
Recruitment Partner
HR Officer
Recruitment Manager
Head of HR
Operations
Support Manager
Quality Manager
Early Years Operations Manager
Head of Quality & Education
Operations Director
Facilities
Facilities Assistant
Maintenance Operative
Maintenance & Facilities Manager
Development Director
Developments
Developments Administrator
Integrations Manager
Head of Developments
My Career Pathway
Nicola Brookes
Nanny
First job was a nanny, then qualified as Nursery Nurse
Nursery Nurse
Worked in private setting in Wadebridge
Nursery Nurse
Started as Nursery Nurse at Happy Days Newquay
Nursery Room Supervisor
As the company grew, promoted to Room Supervisor
Manager
Nursery Manager for Happy Days in Cornwall and Devon
Operations Manager
Promoted to Operations Manager
Head of Development
Development role for over ten years, project managing new developments.
My Career Pathway
Wendy Potts
Early Years Operations Manager
Nanny
Nanny for two different families
Nursery nurse
Joined Happy Days Penrice as Nursery Nurse
Nursery Supervisor
Nursery Supervisor Penrice
Deputy manager
Deputy manager at Penrice
Deputy Manager
Bodmin Deputy Manager
Nursery Manager
Promoted to Manager three months later
Enhanced Manager
Enhanced Manager supporting different nurseries
IT Project Manager
IT Project manager at the Support Centre
Field Manager
Supporting nurseries across Cornwall
Operations Manager
Promoted to Early Years Operations Manager.
My Career Pathway
Emma Richards
Nursery Manager
Nursery Apprentice
Completed Level 2 and 3 apprenticeship at a nursery in Bristol.
Room Supervisor
Moved to bigger setting and started as Room Supervisor
Room Supervisor
Transferred to new nursery as Room Supervisor ahead of opening
Room Supervisor
Started at Happy Days Cheswick, as a Room Supervisor
Senior Room Supervisor
Went to Lyde Green as a Senior Room Supervisor, obtained Outstanding at Ofsted
Deputy Manager
Happy Days Bath Deputy Manager
Nursery Manager
Maternity leave cover as Nursery Manager
My Career Pathway
Emily Marsh
Nursery Manager (Truro City)
Apprentice
Completed L2, 3 & 4 at Happy Days
Nursery Nurse
Moved to Penair nursery
Room Supervisor
Room Supervisor in the Toddler Room
Senior Supervisor
Senior Supervisor in Explorers
Deputy Manager
Deputy Manager at Penrice
Nursery Manager
Promoted to Manager at Penrice and transferred to Truro City
My Career Pathway
Karen Tonkin
Nursery Manager (Playbox)
Nursery Nurse
Qualified L3 at college and started career as a Nursery Nurse
Nanny
Nanny for 18 months
Nursery Manager
Ran a nursery at 20 years old and started at Playbox at the age of 23. Completed Level 7 PG Certificate
My Career Pathway
Ellie Wickett
Nursery Manager (Bradley Stoke)
Nursery Nurse
Started at happy days in 2016 as a part time Nursery Nurse
Room Supervisor
Promoted to Room Supervisor, Under Deputy Manager
Senior Supervisor
Promoted to Senior Supervisor
Deputy Manager
Promoted to cover the Deputy Manager, maternity leave role
Acting Manager
Promoted to Acting Manager
Nursery Manager
Promoted to Manager 2023
My Career Pathway
Stacey Bailey
Nursery Manager (Bradley Stoke)
Nursery Nurse
Started as a Nursery Nurse in a small nursery
Nanny
Nannying for a year for two young children
Room Supervisor
Started at Happy Days as a Room Supervisor in 2015
Senior Supervisor
Progressed to Senior Supervisor in 2017
Deputy Manager
Promoted to Deputy Manager in 2018
Nursery Manager
Promoted to Manager in 2023
My Career Pathway
Ann Skinner
Senior Finance Officer
Apprentice
I started my career with a firm of Accountants where I passed the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) examinations
Business Administrator
After having my children, I worked for a local childcare nursery as their Business Administrator, where I worked for a number of years before it was bought by Happy Days
Business Support
I then supported Happy Days at various nurseries, before moving to the Support Centre on a permanent basis
Senior Finance Officer
The role at the Happy Days Support Centre has changed over the years, as new systems installed and more nurseries built and acquired and I became a Senior Finance Officer