Starting a nursery can be your next step in your childcare career, a long-term goal, or a new area of interest. You should make sure you are well prepared for what it will entail because, even if you have worked in childcare for many years, it may be a challenging job with many factors to take into account. There are four key requirements for success, regardless of the nursery’s level of development: a strong business plan for the nursery, thorough planning, market research, and high-quality, qualified employees. You will find it difficult to offer the level of provision that will ensure success without all of these components. A nursery business plan template has been created by us in this article to make the writing easier for you.
Let’s zoom off….
What Is a Nursery Business?
Nowadays, nurseries are a common and prosperous business. They provide early childhood education to kids before they start in-school programmes, and if you like dealing with kids, this might be the ideal place for you. But there are many things to think about first if you’re thinking of opening your own nursery business.
How To Start a Nursery Business
There are some steps to follow when you plan on opening a nursery business to make it successful:
#1. Make Sure You Have the Qualifications and Experience
If your goal is to operate a nursery as a business rather than get engaged in the teaching and day-to-day management of the nursery, you technically don’t need any training or expertise to do so. If you’re going to work in the background, it’s always a good idea to educate yourself on the ins and outs of business ownership. However, there are some credentials and experience you’ll need to have if you do intend to get involved with teaching the kids directly.Â
A nursery manager must have worked as a nursery nurse for at least two years, have had a supervisory position for one to two years, and possess the necessary nursery certifications.
#2. Hiring the Right Staff
In every business, but especially when working with kids and families, it’s crucial to pick the right employees. Whether or not they have appropriate behaviour management. Children’s caregivers may come across a variety of behavioural situations, and they must be able to react in a way that supports the welfare and development of the kids.
Whether or not they take pleasure in working with kids and have patience. They must share your vision because they will have to do this daily. They must also have the proper mindset. Remember that nurseries must adhere to minimum staffing ratios of one adult for every three children under the age of two, one adult for every four children ages two to two, and one adult for every eight children ages three to seven. In your adult-to-child ratios, trainees or apprentices under the age of 17 are not considered adults. Additionally, there must always be a minimum of two employees on duty.
#3. Register Your Nursery
You must be 18 years of age or older, be eligible to work in the UK, and submit to a Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check before you can apply for registration. The DBS check, which costs about £50, verifies that you have no criminal convictions that would prevent you from working with children. Additionally, you will be required to complete a health declaration form outlining any medical conditions you may have and any medications you are currently taking. Following registration, Ofsted will visit your nursery at least once every three years to make sure it complies with the 14 national criteria for child care. This will be used to grade you.
#4. Conducting Research
Conducting correct research is the first step in starting a successful nursery business. Included in those crucial sectors are clients, rivals, and operations. It is crucial to carry out both primary research (your own investigation, including speaking with prospective clients and keeping an eye on rivals). An annual sufficiency report, which local authorities are required by law to provide, is helpful for identifying gaps in and choosing an appropriate location to open, is available from the early years’ department of your local authority and is frequently a good source of information about early years provision in your neighbourhood. Learn what parents want from childcare services, then customise your offerings to fulfill those needs. You may set your rates at a sustainable and competitive level by conducting research on the amount of fees parents are willing to pay for childcare and learning how many local nurseries charge parents.
#5. Decide What Type of Nursery You Want To Start
You have the option of starting a nonprofit nursery or a private nursery. In either case, you must abide by the same laws and standards. However, if the organisation is a registered charity, additional reporting obligations will be applicable. The sole distinction is that the non-profit nursery’s profits support the community centre or nonprofit organisation to which you belong, whereas a private nursery operates like any other company, with shareholders and dividends or drawings if it is not incorporated.
You should also choose if you want to join a franchise or launch your business entirely from scratch. You won’t need to rush to raise startup money because the franchise organisation will help with the nursery’s resources, but they will also take a cut of the revenues.
#6. Get Your Licences and Regulations
Regardless of where you reside, your country’s regulatory body will require you to register your day nursery before you may do so, and you must first meet the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) standards. A nursery insurance policy is required, covering public liability, employer’s liability, professional indemnity, commercial property, and business interruption insurance to protect you in the event that you need to temporarily close the nursery, such as during a lockdown.
There are food safety laws you must follow for the meals and snacks you offer to kids. Specifically for childcare providers, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has created a set of hygienic guidelines for preparing and storing food. Maintaining risk assessments, evacuation plans, fire safety, injury reporting, and the storage of any hazardous goods should all be covered by a clear health and safety policy. Depending on the age range of the kids at the day nursery, there are some stringent staffing requirements for the amount of personnel you must hire.
#7. Building Your Day Nursery Brand
There is more to branding than just a logo and a colour palette. It is how you wish to present your nursery business to your target market. Your branding needs to represent all aspects of your business, from how you interact with parents to the instructional strategies you use.
It’s difficult to create a brand from scratch. The best course of action is to meet with a branding consultant like BUSINESS YIELD CONSULT who can help you achieve your goal. Once you have established your brand, you may replicate it across all of your communications, websites, buildings, uniforms, and policies.
Once you’ve established your brand, it’s time to increase brand recognition. Social media and websites can help with this. However, there are guidelines and restrictions on the internet sharing of pictures of the kids who go to your nursery. You can’t post their pictures without their parent’s or guardians’ consent.
#8. Find a Suitable Location
When picking a location for your nursery, there are a number of things to consider. The following is to be considered:
- If there is a parking
- Whether it has good transportation options
- Is the nursery going to be attached to a community centre or religious community and will it be nearby?
- And if there are any nearby nurseries that compete
- Perhaps there is enough room outside for a playground.
- Whether it has enough space to install all the required facilities is not
- Is there a demand for another nursery? Are existing nurseries in the area full?
- Maybe it is in a neighbourhood that is safe and has lots of families around
You will also need to abide by some legal space limitations. For kids under the age of two, you need 3.5 square metres of room per child. You need 2.5 square metres per child between the ages of two and three.
Furthermore, each child needs 2.3 square metres of space between the ages of three and seven. After you’ve closely examined a potential site, consult an architect to see how much it will cost to turn the area into a daycare centre.
#9. Prepare a Business Plan
It is time to draught a business plan now that you have gone over every aspect and are aware of what it takes to build a nursery business. When you are searching for funding, the lender will want to know where their money is going. Therefore, this is important to keep you on track and is also vital. Also, it aids you in maintaining your spending plan at all times. You might engage a professional to write your business plan if you are unsure of how to proceed.
#10. Funding
You’ll be prepared to use your business plan to raise money for your nursery now that you’ve finished writing it. Several ways to pay for your nursery include:
- Put money of your own into the business.
- Loans from banks
- loans for new companies.
- Equity funding is capital provided by shareholders.
The groundwork for establishing your new nursery business will be in place once you have done your research, written a business plan, and raised the necessary funds.
What Is a Nursery Business Plan?
When starting a nursery business, it is crucial to have a solid plan. As you move through the setup process in the nursery business, it will guide your decisions. Do you require outside funding? Or require legal advice from a professional? Do you know where to look for and how to entice the parents of prospective classmates?
You’ll be stumbling in the dark without a nursery business plan. You won’t be taken seriously by potential investors either. Get it right away and prepare for the journey ahead. But if you know what you’re doing and truly care about providing high-quality early childhood education, you could be able to create a company that will be successful for many years, perhaps even decades. The good news is that to ease your worries, we have a nursery business plan template for you!
How To Write a Nursery Business Plan
Here, we created a nursery business plan template as a guideline to assist you in putting your aspirations on paper. If you follow these instructions, you’ll have a useful, pertinent document to help you stay relevant in the business.
#1. Executive Summary
An executive summary is a breakdown of your nursery business plan’s main ideas. It contains important details like your earnings and loss. It should be brief and to the point and explain why your company is viable. Any childcare experience you may have should be mentioned here. You can summarize the key facts about your company in it, such as its name, aims, and ambitions. This provides a summary of your goals for both you and anyone else reading your nursery business plan.
#2. Company Overview
This is your chance to share the motivation for beginning a nursery business. To sell yourself and your vision, mention your drive, expertise, and qualifications. If you’ve never had a business before, visualise yourself as a prosperous businessperson and tap into the confidence that will result from it. Include a description of your beliefs, services, ways you stand out from the competition, your mission and vision statements, and the chances you plan to capture.
Keep in mind to adhere to the SMART principles while defining your goals;
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Timely
#3. Services
Make sure to fully describe what you are giving in this part as well as how you vary from other providers and organisations in your nursery business plan. Your main component when promoting to potential clients and investors will be your unique selling point (UPS). What will offer your nursery the edge above the competition you need to succeed? Perhaps your business is next to a railway station, making pick-up and drop-off for harried parents who commute easier. Maybe there is a wooded area in your outdoor space that you could advertise as a forest school.
Even though it might seem obvious, you must list all the services you will provide. Consider carefully the following, as each childcare provider will have a slightly different offering:
- How accommodating are your hours?
- Specify your lower and upper age limits in the age provision.
- How many kids will be in each class? What are the ratios? And how many employees?
- Are there any parks, museums, or libraries near your property?
- Will you offer services from outside providers, such as swimming lessons or language classes, as part of your activities?
#4. Market Research
Now is the moment to define your market, being sure to analyse both your target market and your competitors in your nursery business plan. You will be able to start forming an accurate company strategy, as well as a picture of the types of individuals that will be your customers and the price you will charge.
Focus on your intended audience now. Beyond the fact that they will inevitably become parents, they can diverge greatly. Some parents of two-year-olds will qualify for more government assistance than others, while others may rely on childcare vouchers provided by their employers. Some parents will only require a spot for a few mornings each week, while others will require a full-time setting. Examine the demographics of your neighbourhood, including the average pay, population size and change, and birth rates. Your plans can benefit from every piece of knowledge and become more accurate.
#5. Finances
This describes your financial situation as well as your projected income and expenses in your nursery business plan. Financial statements like your balance sheet and cash flow statements would be included. The equipment needed to start a nursery will range from furniture to toys and books to outdoor playthings to computers and tablets to first aid supplies and promotional materials.
Your largest continuous cost will be employee pay, which makes up 73 percent of all expenses for private day nurseries. Some of these may need to be changed on a regular basis. Rent or mortgage payments, training expenses, and utility bills will all significantly reduce your profit. Do you know where your funding originates, to sum up? In your nursery business plan, be very explicit about the funding you’ve previously acquired (personal savings, soft loans from family and friends, etc.) and whether further funding through a business loan, sponsorship, or business partner is necessary.
#6. Location
The location of your business is crucial to your plan, and there are several things to take into account, including its size, location, and compliance with any applicable property laws. Many structures have limitations on the number of people who are permitted to enter them as well as guidelines governing whether you are able to operate a company from them. Describe your plans in this part of your nursery business plan, being careful to mention any necessary ancillary charges.
Decide how many children you would ideally like to accommodate before you begin looking for a location. This will have an effect on the size of the property you need, the number of employees, and the cost. Your market research should guide where you decide to locate this business. Will you be flooding a market that is already having trouble or filling a gap?
Here are some things to consider while searching for a location:
- Transportation options to provide the most convenient pick-up and drop-off
- adequate outdoor space and parking
- Bathroom and kitchen amenities
- security
- Whether a structure is suitable for conversion when it already exists
#7. Marketing Plan
Here, you should outline your strategies for attracting parents and customers, generating sales, and creating devoted followers. Furthermore, a significant portion of your business plan will be devoted to your marketing strategy. A plan for promoting your nursery before its anticipated launch date should be at its core. You need to go all out, using both conventional strategies like posting banners outside the building and distributing flyers to neighbourhood infant and toddler organisations, as well as fully embracing a social media campaign.
#8. Rules and Regulations
There are a lot of legal considerations, guidelines, and restrictions when starting a nursery. You will be taking care of kids, after all. Make sure your company plan makes it apparent that you are aware of and have taken into account these rules and regulations. Additionally, you will need to register with Ofsted. If you are qualified to care for children, you need to take the following two steps first:
- a DBS that evaluates your fitness based on any prior convictions for crimes
- a health declaration form in which you indicate any medical conditions you have and the medications you take
Make sure you budget at least six months for the completion of this lengthy registration process since it is necessary. Without it, you won’t be able to open your nursery business. Once your nursery is operational and registered, Ofsted will inspect it at least once every three years to ensure compliance with national requirements. With the possibility of an Ofsted inspection looming, you’ll be even more driven to succeed in your new nursery venture.
#9. Organization and Management Team
You must now specify if you plan to hire employees and how your company will be managed. This might address both the early stages and how you envision your company developing over time and adding people as it expands. Who is involved in the venture, and what are their skills and expertise?
#10. Appendix
You can include any material in this part to support your business plan. Reports, legal documents, etc. may be included. It serves to explain some of the elements you included in the business plan and provides a complete grasp of it. You can include any material in this part to support your business plan. Reports, legal documents, etc. may be included. It serves to explain some of the elements you included in the business plan and provides a complete grasp of it.
Nursery Business Plan Template
Having a nursery business plan template gives you the full confidence of starting the journey of writing your own nursery business plan. We have a nursery business plan template so you won’t get confused when writing your plan. The following are included in the nursery business plan template we’ve created for you:
- Executive summary
- Industry analysis
- Market analysis
- Operational plan
- Management team
- Marketing plan
- Financial information
- Appendix
This nursery business plan template will surely serve as a guideline to make writing your plan easier.
Final Thoughts
Planning the ideal nursery requires consideration of how to bring toddlers’ giggles and smiles into the space. Without any children to enjoy it, operating a nursery business is pointless. Therefore, your nursery business plan needs to be carefully written. That is why we have compiled one for you to save you from the stress of writing it! Go ahead and download the template for nursery business plan
FAQs
Can you open a nursery in a house?
If planning approval is obtained, you are allowed to operate a nursery in your home. To find out if this is the case, you must speak with your local government, which could take some time.
Who regulates nurseries in the UK?
The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services, and Skills is also known as Ofsted. In England, they oversee and inspect childcare providers such as childminders, registered nannies, nurseries, pre-schools, schools, and FE institutions.
Is a nursery school a good business?
Preschool establishments are one of the most lucrative enterprises when done with devotion, tenacity, and dedication. Preschools help you gain market recognition and goodwill in addition to improved financial returns.
