How to open a nursery in the UK (childcare business) in 7 steps – YouTube Video

A business plan doesn’t have to be long; it just has to be a clear example of how you can make your nursery business successful.

If you are having trouble starting or completing your business plan there is an article in the description below, where you can also download a free nursery business plan template.

Step 2 – Finding a Location

Moving on to No. 2, once you have started your business plan you need to start thinking about where you want your nursery to be located. Most of you I’m sure will be looking to open a nursery nearby your home, maybe even in your home. As it makes it easier to manage and run the nursery.

Though to do this you need to make sure there is sufficient demand in your area as you don’t want to open a nursery and there no one turns up.

One way to do this Find out the number of under 5s in your area, remembering roughly 20% of parents will send their child to a private day nursery.

How many nurseries are in your area how big they are and whether they have spaces.

You can find most of this information from the local council or through google searches. This is because local councils are required to publish these childcare figures in their childcare sufficiency assessments.

So just look up the childcare sufficiency assessment of the area you want to open, and read through that document.  In this document You will also find lots of other information you may find useful to help you when opening, like how much other nurseries charge.

If you would like more help doing this, I recommend signing up to the full course mentioned in the beginning as we go through this in more detail including where to find out information like demand in the area and how many children.

Though if this does sound to complicated you can get an idea of demand in your area or the area you choose to open a nursery by calling a few nurseries and find out if they have spaces.

Once you’ve established that your area has sufficient demand and enough parents looking for a nursery place you can move onto the next step.

Step 3 – finding a building

Which is finding a building.

Finding a nursery building is similar to looking for a building you might rent or buy for yourself.  You would use similar sites like Zoopla or Rightmove to find your building.  Just go to the commercial sections of these sites.

There are also specific sites that advertise nursery buildings which you can find through google searches.

Your nursery building has to adhere to certain legal and Ofsted requirements.

Firstly, in terms of legal requirements your building has to be a certain use class.  Every building is given a letter and number to show what the building can be used for.  Which is its use class.  Since September, nursery buildings fall into the use class of E (previously D1).

This means the following buildings can be used for a nursery:

1. retail,
2. restaurant,
3. office,
4. financial/professional services,
5. indoor sports,
6. medical like doctors’ surgeries or dentists
7. and of course, nursery buildings

So, these are the buildings you should look for when finding your nursery building.

You can look for other buildings, however, you will need to apply for planning permission in order to use it for a nursery.  We cover how to do this on the full course, though, if you are doing this yourself then I would recommend just looking for buildings that fall into the E class.

If you currently run or work in a nursery you will know some or most of the Ofsted regulations that you need to adhere to in order to open.  Though, I will run through them quickly now for those that don’t.

Ofsted regulations:

The biggest thing would be the space.  You need to get an estimate of how many children you can for your building size. This is separated by age, so you are allowed:

1. one under 2 per every 3.5m2
2. one 2-year-old per every 2.5m2
3. and on 3–5-year-old per every 2.3m2

Though, this is just an estimate, Ofsted will not measure your building but will ask whether you know these numbers and will see whether the amount you want to register your building for is realistic.

Other things to consider are:

1. how many toilets you need?
2. how food will be prepared – will you need a kitchen
3. is there a separate area for babies?
4. do you have an outside space?
5. and safety aspects of the building like radiator covers, privacy, steep stairs etc.

Those are the main considerations you need to have when looking for a building.

You can find further guidance on the Ofsted requirements in the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework Document which you can find a link to in the description. https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2017/03/EYFS_STATUTORY_FRAMEWORK_2017.pdf

Once you have found your building you can then buying equipment and resources for your nursery.

Step 4 – Set Up Your Business

Another step is to set-up your business.

You need to decide whether you will be a company, sole trader or partnership.  You then need to register this with HMRC so that you can pay tax.

At this point you can start thinking about finalizing your business plan.  This will help you to find out whether you will need to apply for outside funding.

This can take the form of a bank loan, angel investor or grants. There are lots of different funding options available.  Though, most will require a business plan, which is why your business plan is so important.

Step 5 – Get Staff

After sorting out your finances and setting up your business you can start to look at what staff you might need.  Before you start advertising your role you need to register your business be that your company, sole trader or partnership, as an employer.

This is quite simple and can be done online.  You then need to register to a pension scheme and get some software to send payments to HMRC.

This my sound complicated, but it is easy to learn.

Though, if you are really struggling to do this you can hire someone to handle your PAYE.

Once, you have your PAYE processes in order you can start looking for staff and build your nursery team.

This can be done by advertising your job on places like indeed.

Step 6 – Get Ofsted Approval

The next step is getting registered with Ofsted.

Although, I’ve left this until step 6, this can be done at any time and I would recommend doing this as soon as you have secured your building.  This is because it can take up to 6 months for Ofsted to register you.  And you don’t want to have done everything and be ready to open, only to wait another 6 months paying your rent or mortgage before you can actually open.

The registration process is done online, it’s a fairly simple form.  You just need to let them know who will be running the nursery, whether that be you or if you hire a manager.  Where the nursery will be located and how you will ensure you follow the EYFS and statutory requirements.

They will visit you within 6 months of you registering, after which they will decide whether you can open your nursery or suggest changes before you can open.

Step 7 – Get Children

The final step is to start planning on how to get children.  This is your marketing plan, which you should have included in your business plan, put into action.

This involves:

1. Creating your brand i.e., choosing your nursery name, colours, logo, mission statements etc.
2. Creating your website
3. Creating your social media platforms, whether that be on Facebook Twitter Instagram etc.
4. Using Google Ads
5. Adding your business to google my business so people can find you if they search on Google
6. Signing up to nursery websites/ forums like daynurseries.co.uk and childcare.co.uk
7. Planning fun days and open days
8. Creating promotional materials like flyers and brochures

You will undoubtedly come up with your own ways to promote your nursery though the above is a good starting point to give you some ideas.

And that is it really.  Once you have done these 7 steps you can plan your opening and be ready for your little ones to be knocking on your door excited to start their first day.

Outro

I know remembering all of this can be complicated, which is why I have added a free checklist you can download in the description which you can tick off once you have completed certain tasks.  It, also contains a bit more information, which I was unable to cover in this video.

Now, that you know the 7 steps, if you are looking to continue learning and take the next step to opening your own nursery then enrol on the free starter course, which you can also find in the description below. It covers creating your own survival budget, which makes sure you have enough money to cover your own personal expenses, working out your costs and creating your business plan.

It’s free to enrol so just click the link on screen or in the description below to join.

Before you go, don’t forget to subscribe and share this video with anyone else you know who may be looking to open their own nursery.

Thanks for watching, and good luck on your journey and dream of opening your nursery.