When Growth Means Letting Go: Preparing to Leave the Nursery I Built

In four weeks, I will leave the nursery I have led for the past six years.

Even writing that sentence still feels unfamiliar.

This small nursery, the team within it, and the culture we have built together have been a significant part of my professional life and identity. I have loved leading here. I have loved watching it grow. I have loved the people within it.

And yet, I am leaving.

Not because I want to leave them — but because I need to grow.

Loving what you built

Over the past six years, this nursery has not simply been a workplace.

It has been a space shaped through shared values, relationships, challenges, and commitment. Together, we have created something warm, thoughtful and child-centred.

When you build something with people, it becomes part of you.

Which is why choosing to step away feels both right and incredibly difficult at the same time.

The quiet pull towards growth

For some time now, I have felt a steady internal pull, a sense that I need to stretch, learn, and develop in new ways.

Not because my current role no longer matters. Not because I am dissatisfied. Not because the team or nursery are lacking.

But because professional growth sometimes asks us to move beyond what is familiar and loved.

The guilt of leaving

There is a particular guilt in early years leadership when you leave a team you care about.

We know the pressures. We know the realities. We know how much stability matters.

So the thought of stepping away can feel like letting people down even when we know rationally that change is part of professional life.

I have questioned this decision more times than I can count.

Being more than the roles we hold

Alongside being a leader, I am also a mother of three.

Like many women in early years, I am the organiser, the planner, the one who keeps life moving - schedules, logistics, responsibilities.

And somewhere within all of that, there is also me.

My professional identity. My curiosity. My need to keep growing.

It has taken time to recognise that those needs matter too.

Choosing growth is not rejection

Leaving a place you love is not a rejection of it.

It does not undo the years invested. It does not diminish the relationships built. It does not erase the shared work.

Sometimes it simply means acknowledging that growth requires movement.

That staying because something is comfortable or meaningful is different from staying because it is where you continue to develop.

Carrying it forward

I will not stop caring about this nursery when I leave.

I will carry the learning, relationships, and shared experiences into the next stage of my professional journey.

Places we lead become part of our professional story, they do not end when our roles change.

A reflection for leaders considering change

If you are an early years leader standing at the edge of a similar decision, you may recognise this tension,

loving what you have built while feeling the need to move forward.

Growth in leadership is rarely comfortable.

But sometimes the most honest professional decision is the one that honours both what has been created and who you are still becoming.