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earlyyears.teachwire.net
“Assess your
competition”
Go and visit as many day
nurseries as you can before you
start. Every nursery will teach
you something. For example,
what does your nose say to you when
you come in through the door? How are you
greeted by staff? Are the children happy and
occupied, or listless and bored? What equipment
does the nursery have on display, and is it actually
used? The more research you can do first, the
better; not doing that research can be very costly.
Peers Carter
set up and ran a successful day nursery
for more than a decade – what would be his advice to
someone thinking of embarking on such a venture today?
LOOK BEFORE YOU
Do not enter the field as an
operator unless you really like
and care about children. The
parents, the staff and the
children can feel the difference
between someone who just
wants to make money and
someone who is committed to
creating a happy, safe and
creative environment. (My wife
and I set up our day nursery
because we did not think any
of the local providers were
good enough for our
grandchildren.) This is a very
emotional business – nothing
matters more to sane parents
than their children, and
everything you do will be
under the microscope.
Will the level of care
you provide pass
muster and
delight? Will
parents be likely to
recommend you – or
do the opposite?
“Love
what
you do”
“BUY BIG”
Establish the largest registration you can afford from the
outset. In my view, day nurseries with registrations of less
than 50 places are at risk except in the most affluent areas,
where as often as not vouchers for ‘free ‘childcare hours are
not accepted. With 15 hours of ‘free’ childcare producing a
loss and the government’s proposed 30 hours producing
twice that loss, a day nursery has to be of a certain size and
occupancy to survive those losses and thrive.
