Who Supports the Supporters?
Early years managers are often the figureheads of their settings, quietly keeping everything running - organising admin, leading practice, and ensuring the environment is the best it can be. They are the steady anchor for their teams, grounding, guiding, and nurturing practitioners, support staff, parents and carers, and, of course, the children who deserve the very best start in life.
If the manager supports everyone, who supports the manager?
Managers are frequently the first point of call for reassurance after a tough day, advice for worried families, support for colleagues facing personal challenges, or guidance for children needing additional help. They give constantly - emotionally, professionally, and mentally.
While this giving is part of the role, it can become exhausting when done continuously without space to recharge.
Some managers are fortunate to have a deputy, a strong leadership team, support from owners, or regional managers. But not every manager has this safety net. The role itself is multifaceted: safeguarding lead, pedagogical leader, culture builder, statistician, advertiser, mentor, mediator, emotional support – the list could go on.
It’s no surprise managers often joke, “I’ll add it to my CV.” Yet they rarely reflect on the emotional labour they carry daily, which can be heavy, complex, and often unnoticed.
Self-care isn’t optional
Self-care can often be trivialised into ‘looking after yourself’ by having a bubble-bath, and end of week treats. But in leadership it has a far wider meaning. It’s about working in a way that protects your capacity to lead.
Managers often create a culture of sharing our vision and values with staff but is this reciprocal – setting out these expectations from the start is important. Should a manager feel guilty if they have an open-door policy, but just need 10 minutes without distractions? It’s important to establish boundaries, both physical and mental, that ensure a manager has capacity to lead and sustain. Creating protected time each week or even each day, to allow space to think, plan and reflect can help prevent burnout and help to strengthen as a leader.
An early year’s manager needs strong emotional resilience and maintaining it can be a challenge.
The NHS 5 steps to mental wellbeing can help:
- Connect with other people
- Be physically active
- Learn new skills
- Give to others
- Pay attention the present moment (mindfulness)
These 5 steps can be applied in the workplace, for example:
- Have lunch with colleagues
- Take a walk around the local area
- Give time for personal growth – whether that be training or research
- Spend time with the children – it reconnects you with your purpose
- Try mindfulness practices such as journaling, simple breathing exercises or find a creative outlet (which could also be shared with the children)
It’s important to continue to invest in your ongoing wellbeing. Self-care is not an indulgence; it is your scaffold for leadership.
Your circle of support
Your support circle begins with your personal relationships—family and friends—but extends into your professional world. Linking with another early years manager in North Tyneside can provide invaluable peer support. Our termly Early Years Network Meetings offer a space to share experiences, challenges, and successes.
Beyond your immediate team, Education North Tyneside and other services offer a wide range of services that can support managers, including:
- Early Years Partnership
- Public Health 0–19 Team
- NHS teams including speech and language
And of course, the Early Years Advisers are here to support you.
Education North Tyneside Early Years Advisers
Managers often feel they must hold everything together. But leadership becomes healthier and more sustainable when managers recognise and use the support available to them. Our aim is to help you strive, not survive, and to form part of the scaffold that strengthens your leadership.
We offer support through:
- expertise
- reflective challenge
- reassurance
- signposting
- pedagogy and curriculum guidance
- safeguarding advice
- a safe space to talk things through
- continuity and consistency when the role can feel isolating
This year’s SLA will focus on supporting the implementation of an effective curriculum. The training sessions will focus on:
- Ensuring you have a high quality curriculum;
- Meeting the needs of boys and;
- Understanding attachment and brain development
If you haven’t already, there’s still time to sign-up for this year’s SLA for 2026/27. We are here to support, strengthen, and be a part of your scaffold, so you can be a manager who continues to keep early years settings in North Tyneside thriving. Needing help and support is normal, expected and healthy.
Support is not a luxury
Managers are the steady hands nurturing the early years provision. However, even the steadiest hands need to rest. Support is not a luxury; it’s a key part of being an effective leader. In North Tyneside, you do not have to go it alone. Your networks, partnerships and advisers can support the supporters - so ultimately our children can receive the very best care.
If any of the issues highlighted here have impacted you or someone you know, you’re not alone, support is available. Speaking to someone you trust can be a helpful first step, and there are also dedicated mental health helplines that offer confidential, non-judgemental support.
For a list of UK helplines and detailed guidance on how to seek help, you can visit Mind’s mental health helplines directory: Mental health helplines.
If you’re in immediate distress or feel unable to keep yourself safe, please contact emergency services or reach out to your local crisis team straight away.
How can we support your school?
Our Early Years - birth to 5 Service Level Agreement is ready to purchase now. Find out more about the benefits of the SLA and how our team of expert advisers can support your school.
