Nursery Management Today September/October issue

September/October 2020 Volume 19 Number 5

NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY

w F w Ch ollow w ec us .n k m ou @nm t-m t o tm ur ag w a g a z az eb ine i n s it e e. co .u k

New horizons Maintaining growth through uncertain times

Open discussions Having those difficult conversations

Let nature be your compass Embracing the outdoors

Navigating the new reality for early years

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Inside this issue...

September/october 2020 ● Volume 19 Number 5

Editor’s Comment............................................. 3 News................................................................................ 4 26

Nursery Talk..........................................................14 Time for reflection. Dr Helen Edwards explains why reflective practice is so important as we ease out of lockdown.

Focus............................................................................. 16 New horizons. Karen Clince details Tigers Childcare’s entrance into the UK market and how her framework has brought success.

Manager’s Helpline......................................20 38

Room for growth. Stuart Blair tells us that, despite the current pandemic, OakNorth Bank is still keen to lend to nurseries.

Training...................................................................... 24 Hot Topics................................................................ 44

Researching for better approaches. Gill Mason talks about a research project into the impact of Covid-19.

Technology............................................................ 26 42

Changes, changes, changes. Aaron Hathaway and Matt Arnerich describe how technology has changed communication for the early years sector through the pandemic.

Great Outdoors................................................ 46

Westminster.........................................................30 Perfect storm. Briony Richter looks at the significant rise of childcare costs coupled with increasing closures.

Sector Viewpoint........................................... 36 Adaptability. Zoë Raven details her journey through Covid-19 and how her team have adapted to the new environment.

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Embrace nature. Rosie Tomkins details the importance of leaders in the early years sector learning from their outdoor surroundings.

Catering..................................................................... 48 Food glorious food. Darryl Reardon talks about the operations at TPNK and finding efficient and safe ways to deliver food to children.

Financial Advice............................................... 50

Soapbox.................................................................... 38

Keeping track of finances. . Jonathan Amponsah explains some of the ways to support your nursery financially through Covid-19.

Test to trace. Marta Kalas speaks about managing health testing across early years settings.

Insurance Advice............................................ 52

Special Report.................................................... 40

Keeping up. Jackie Hyde speaks about getting through your checklist to save the headache.

Explore play. Heather Welch explains the importance of early years development and play based learning.

Spotlight................................................................... 54

Management...................................................... 42 50

Trust is a two-way street. Neil Leitch speaks about the sectors struggles to survive as we call for Government to take decisive action.

Investment and growth. Shaz Nawaz speaks about the strategies to grow your nursery business under the ‘new normal’.

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Care for colleagues. Sally Bonnar describes how she is encouraging change to improve the wellbeing of staff and children.

Property.....................................................................56

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NurseryCare

nmtcomment EDITOR

Briony Richter EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Dr Richard Hawkins MANAGING DIRECTOR

Vernon Baxter ART EDITOR

Rob Wheele ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Caroline Bowern T: 0203 746 2617 E: caroline.bowern@ investorpublishing.co.uk EDITORIAL ADVISERS

Neil Leitch Chief Executive, Early Years Alliance

Andy Morris Consultant

Sarah Steel Managing Director, The Old Station Nursery

Linda Baston-Pitt Chief Executive Officer, PurpleBee Learning

Susan McGhee Operations Director, One Parent Families Scotland

Rosemary Collard Director, Snapdragons Nurseries

Purnima Tanuku Chief Executive, National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA)

Clare Roberts Chief Executive Officer, Kids Planet Day Nurseries SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

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Navigating the new reality

here are many things that we have all learnt from the pandemic both at home and at work. For me, at home I realised that my cooking skills have not really improved but it’s always good to know your smoke alarm works.

On a more serious note, this pandemic has taught me the importance of clear and encouraging communication. Sometimes we all need a little prod to realise more effective ways of communicating.

That is why I spoke to Sally Bonnar, chief operating officer at Co-op Childcare. For her, improving the wellbeing of staff and children was imperative and communication was part of her strategy. Having a consistent and two-way conversation between the employer and the employee massively reduces anxieties and builds confidence.

As the nation grapples with the new normal, the relationship among teams is even more important. These are still very stressful times for everyone. That includes the managers as well as staff members and it’s crucial that the team dynamic stays positive and supportive.

Then Gill Mason, head of training and development at Kids Planet detailed the recent research she conducted in collaboration with Dr Joan Walton, a senior lecturer at York.

Her research showed that with new challenges and opportunities presented, many practitioners actually found themselves with an increased sense of value and confidence. Of course, you’ll have to head to Training article to find out what else the research detailed.

It was fantastic to speak with Karen Clince, CEO of Tigers Childcare who entered the UK market only a few

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weeks before lockdown was announced. She details her Tigers journey and the difficulties around entering a new market.

The edition is filled with experts who have worked in and supported the early years sector. However, it is important to note that the battle isn’t over yet. Neil Leitch goes into a lot more detail in our Hot Topics section but the current research is very worrying.

Analysis from the Early Years Alliance has found that there are nearly 19,000 childcare providers in England that are at risk of closing over the next 12 months with many other settings saying that they are unlikely to reopen over the course of a year.

The sector has really pulled together to support each other but they shouldn’t have to be doing all the extra leg work. Navigating the new challenges will be a long journey and there is no doubt that the Government needs to very quickly step up to ensure as many settings as possible can survive. There will be more hurdles ahead but good communication will help teams work better together despite what is thrown at them. ■ Briony Richter Editor, Nursery Management Today E: Briony.Richter@investorpublishing.co.uk

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Alliance welcomes Labour’s call demanding urgent support for childcare sector On Friday 17 July, Prime Minister, Boris Johnson announced that from August 1, employees can begin to bring workers back if it is safe and also necessary to do so.

His announcement stopped there.

No plans to support parents getting back to work seamlessly and also, absolutely no mention of the long asked for additional funding for the early years sector. The sector is already worryingly underfunded and many settings have already closed due to the financial strain of Covid-19.

To avoid any further closures, there needs to be a complete overhaul of the system, providing better funding and ultimately giving parents more access to childcare.

Leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer has accused the Prime Minister of putting parents in an “impossible position” by urging them to go back to the workplace next month, without offering any support for the struggling childcare sector.

Starmer stated: ‘Despite ordering millions of parents back to the office, the prime minister has refused to provide any extra help for families, penalising parents by

putting them in an impossible position.

‘They got no support for structured activities, no summer catch-up schemes, and no support for a childcare sector on its knees.’

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: ‘Keir Starmer is absolutely right to join us in condemning the government’s lack of support for the childcare sector.

‘We have long been calling on the government to provide the transitional funding the sector urgently needs to survive, and yet despite the fact that one in four providers fear permanent closure within 12 months, these calls continue to fall on deaf ears.

‘If the government is serious about supporting parents and rebooting the economy, it cannot afford to sit by and watch thousands more childcare providers go out of business.

‘Now more than ever, the government must show real leadership on this issue and provide the sector with the funding it desperately needs to survive, and to ensure that parents can continue to access high quality and affordable childcare as they return to work.’

Day nursery in prime London location sold Business property adviser, Christie & Co, is delighted to announce the sale of Little House Day Nursery in Pimlico, London.

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Little House Day Nursery boasts well presented and spacious rooms across two floors of an attractive large church building. Each room is arranged by age and has been equipped to an impressive standard with an array of both learning and play equipment. The business has an effective operating capacity for 64 children and is Ofsted rated “Good”.

Located in Pimlico, central London, the setting is ideal for parents who have to commute locally and for those working in the area. Since it was established in 1998 it has been run by Mr Colin

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Shaw and Ms Rachel Higbee, who have decided to sell in order to pursue a wellearned retirement.

The nursery has been purchased by The Childcare and Learning Group, an established operator with seventeen nurseries across London and the South East.

Sophie Willcox, associate director of Childcare & Education at Christie & Co, who handled the sale, comments: ‘I have known Rachel for many years and I am delighted to have assisted her in the sale of her nursery which generated a lot of interest given its central London location and fantastic reputation.’

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Little Garden Day Nurseries introduce additional safety measures

The Covid-19 crisis has shone a spotlight on the importance of health and wellbeing like never before, increasing demand for more robust health and wellbeing solutions.

Rising to the new challenges, Little Garden Day Nurseries, based in London and Kent, has gone above and beyond the guidelines laid down by the Government. The Group, led by executive chairman Andy Morris, has brought on board an Infection Control nurse and has created a new position of wellbeing and safety manager to support staff at its five nurseries. The wellbeing and safety manager is Angela Gallagher who has worked previously as a nursery manager for 22 years.

Her role will be to ensure that safety measures are upheld and that all staff and children have the support they

need. She said that staff are feeling a lot more relaxed within the nursery environment compared to the early days of the pandemic.

She explained: ‘I noticed staff were very anxious at first about what was happening, but we’ve noticed the fear factor has now gone away. It doesn’t mean they are complacent, far from it – it just means they have adapted to the situation and are confident they are doing everything they possibly can to look after the young people in their charge.’

Most of the Little Garden nurseries remained open during lockdown to support key workers children. Now all the nurseries have been deep cleaned and had carpets removed with more investment placed in PPE to add further protection to staff while working in the nurseries.

An infection control specialist has also been recruited and has reviewed all its Covid-19 policies and checked they have been implemented throughout all the nurseries.

Executive chairman, Andy Morris commented: ‘Children are precious and our priority is the safety and wellbeing of all our staff, children and parents at all time.

‘The feedback from parents has been extremely positive and supportive, and we wanted to share our approach to ‘working safely and smart’ so that other parents elsewhere, who may be worried about their own children returning to nursery or school, can see that life can get back to normal, even if it is a ‘new normal’.’

Flexibility Pathway Connect launches

Flexible Childcare Services Scotland (FCSS) has officially launched Flexibility Pathway Connect that will enable parents to easily book ‘slots’ of childcare to match their own new working routines.

The pandemic has thrown our daily routines completely out the window. Many parents over the next couple of months may find it more difficult to access childcare as they adjust their working life to this new environment. The new system, which is free to use, means that parents can return to

work seamlessly without the worry of having to adapt to previously rigid childcare services.

Now, more than 300 key workers in Scotland have signed up to the new flexible childcare system. It has been very quickly adopted by Aberdeen City Council – after testing – and is already supporting 48 childcare providers to care for 403 children with 302 key worker parents now registered for the service.

Flexibility Pathway Connect was developed with funding from The Innovation Fund. The fund is collaboration between the Scottish Government and venture philanthropy, The Hunter Foundation.

The software also includes staffbank functionality, matching childcare workers to providers who may be facing staffing issues. 120 childcare staff are now registered on the staffbank from across Scotland.

Susan McGhee, chief executive at Flexible Childcare Services Scotland, said: ‘Covid-19 has brought massive disruption to the whole of society and consequently a huge change in new work regimes. Changing the way we work without looking at a change in how childcare is delivered puts lots of families at risk if working parents cannot find a suitably flexible service.

Our new Connect service matches parents with childcare providers and allows them to book time slots that match their own new work practices.’

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Kids Planet children and staff support to Chester Zoo through summer

his summer, Kids Planet launched a fundraising campaign to help support the UK’s number one family attraction, Chester Zoo, due to its significant losses since Covid-19 and its drastic restrictions on visitors for the foreseeable future.

Kids Planet Summer Stampede enabled this nursery group to give financial support by adopting as many animals as it can. To do this, 7,000 children – aged two to five – will be collecting sponsorship as they walk, stomp, hop and leap a collective 1700 miles.

Kids Planet CEO Clare Roberts explains the thinking around this campaign: ‘We currently have 52 nurseries based in UK, with many located within easy travelling distance of Chester Zoo. It’s an incredibly popular attraction for us, our staff and many of our families. Its recent plight, due to lockdown and reduced numbers of visitors, struck a

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chord with our staff and parents and so we came up with this idea. Since launching earlier this month, we reached our first target for £2000 in the first ten days, so we’ve set ourselves an ambitious target of £20,000 and extended our fundraising activities across July and August.’

Childcare Director, Lucy Kaczmarska, added: ‘As part of our learning through play and child-centred activities, animals feature highly. Our Summer Stampede creates so many learning opportunities to support every age and stage of our children’s development from species, to sounds, to colours, to habitats, to behaviours; the list is endless.

‘Also, we wanted to do something that would encourage our children to keep active and enjoy the outdoors. Our nursery practitioners have wonderful imaginations and are already pulling out all the stops to ensure the children

have a lot of fun along the way. We are looking forward to seeing a variety of ‘stampedes’ along the way.’

To encourage engagement Kids Planet also shared a survey with Chester Zoo which included asking children what their favourite wild animal is and why.

Head of Conservation Education and Engagement, Charlotte Smith expressed her delight at the support: ‘Thank you SO much for supporting us with your Kids Planet Summer Stampede. It really means the world to us that you want to support Chester Zoo at this time so that we can continue our crucial work in preventing extinction of amazing animals and plants through our science, conservation and education work.’ ■

The Village Nursery Group acquires three new settings

The Village Nursery Group has recently acquired three settings despite the challenges of Covid-19. At the beginning of this year, the group took over “The Nursery” in Wistaston from Joe & Carol Connolly who retired. The group also took over a setting in Weston that had sadly closed down, but with the acquisition the nursery re-opened in September and will be re-named Schoolhouse. Prior to Covid-19, the Village Nursery Group also took over the building next door to its Warrington nursery which has now successfully re-opened as an Early Years Centre (focussing on 0-5 family sessions, events and support in the community) and Sessional Pre-School. This takes our group to 9 nurseries:

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Village Nursery, Trafford Park Quays Early Years Centre & Pre-School, Warrington ● Quays Nursery, Warrington ● Mere Nursery, Knutsford ● Astbury Lane, Congleton ● Townhouse Nurseries x 2, Stoke on Trent ● The Nursery, (Wistaston) Crewe ● Schoolhouse Nursery, (Weston) Crewe ● ●

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Intervention at early years is essential for tackling child obesity

Child obesity is already a huge problem across the UK, and its brings with it significant and long lasting health risks.

The Government has launched its anti-obesity strategy which brings an end to displaying sweets at the checkouts and bans adverts that promote unhealthy food after 9pm. A new “Better Health” campaign, run by Public Health England, will call on everyone to “embrace a healthier lifestyle”.

Instead of highlighting ‘buy one get one free’ deals on sugary and high fat content foods, shops and supermarkets will be encouraged to promote healthy eating choices and offer more discounts on those options.

However, there needs to be a greater focus on healthy eating education at early years level.

While the initiative sends a positive message, the Government should also focus resources and funding to the early sectors so the education can begin during their first nursery experience.

Katherine Tate, director at The Food Teacher said: ‘Obesity is a complex issue. The Government’s approach so far has been focussed on short term fixes such as reducing exposure to junk food advertising, reducing offers on junk food, and encouraging more exercise.

This is a welcome starting point and long overdue, but at The Food Teacher we feel it must be combined with an education strategy that provides children and families with the practical cooking skills and knowledge that set them up for life, not just topical headlines and quick fixes.’

June O’Sullivan CEO of London Early Years Foundation says:

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‘Whilst we welcome the Prime Minister ’s revised obesity plan – especially the ban on HFSS advertising on TV and online before 9pm – it’s imperative that nutrition standards in Early Years are also mandated and that chefs are properly taught how to cook nutritious food, like in our Chef Academy. It’s unacceptable that some nurseries are inadvertently adding to the obesity problem by serving meals dangerously high in fat, salt and sugar – and we therefore need a radical wake up. Every parent wants to know that their child is getting tasty, healthy food and they need reassurance that the standards are of the highest quality.’

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood has addressed the issue of obesity in many subsequent reports.

Baroness Benjamin said: ‘It is important that we applaud the inclusion of measures that we have ourselves recommended as significant steps forward and a symbol of Government resolve.

‘We now want the Government to strengthen the proposals to recognise that the obesity problem begins in childhood.

‘A more comprehensive strategy would also include our recommendations on physical activity and play.

‘We recognise that the new measures represent a good start. The APPG on A Fit and Healthy Childhood will continue to be a critical friend to all policymakers who genuinely intend to deliver policies and action to reverse the powerful trend towards everincreasing overweight and obesity.

‘This is no easy task and we call again for a Cabinet-level Minister dedicated to turning words into effective action’

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Massive congratulations: Little Beehive Nursery receive the Real Living Wage accreditation

Little Beehive Nursery has received the Real Living Wage accreditation.

The group had been working on reaching this goal for the past three years and we at NMT say a massive well done.

The real living wage is the only voluntary wage rate set by an independent body that takes into consideration the real cost of living in Scotland, unlike the government’s Minimum and National Living wage, the Real Living Wage is set by the Living Wage commission and takes many factors into account to produce their “Real living wage rate”, a wage that they believe reflects the costs of living today.

Over the past three years, the team at Little Beehive have steadily increased their staff wages to today (£9.30) with some staff receiving as much as a 29% pay rise.

The real living wage allows staff to manage the costs of daily life easier and without as much stress as previously. Sandra Davidson, director, commented ‘We are thrilled to have received this accreditation and be among a fantastic and growing group of businesses within the UK that see the value of their team. Little Beehive Nursery practitioners are some of the best in the country, and we believe what they earn should reflect that. We set this target for ourselves three years ago, knowing we wanted to be a real living wage employer for the new 1140 hours funding the government are launching next month.’

Expert Support From Croner Extended for September

At the start of the summer we let you know that Croner, our market-leading HR & Health and Safety Advisors, were offering Croner-i lite to all nurseries (not just dot2dot clients). We are pleased to announce that Croner have extended access until the end of September 2020.

Croner-i Lite is filled with hands-on practical information that every nursery will need at this time, including the furlough toolkit and Coronavirus toolkit. The helpline is open 24/7, simply call the experts with your H&S or HR query on 0844 800 7061.

With full access to Croner-i and the Bright HR helpline for support on HR and Health & Safety matters coming as part of the dot2dot package, Croner-i Lite will provide the core elements of Croner-i and the helpline to non-clients during these tumultuous times.

You can find more information on how to sign up to Croner-i Lite for the Early Years sector on the dot2dot website.

Find out more at: enquiries.croneri.co.uk/dot2dot

Or talk to the team today call: 01204 570 390

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Early years organisations respond to CMA's open letter The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued guidance within an open letter to the early years sector so providers understand their obligations under consumer law towards parents.

The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of providers ensuring their contracts meet the requirements of consumer law and that they recognise consumers’ rights in the current situation.

On 20 March 2020, the CMA established its COVID-19 Taskforce that aimed to identify any commercial practices that adversely affect consumers, and to consider appropriate responses to help businesses comply with the law and protect consumers’

rights. It received some reports of unfair practices by a minority of nurseries and early years providers, mainly relating to payments and cancellations in the context of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of NDNA said: 'We are pleased to have had the opportunity to work with the CMA to support them to understand the issues faced by the early years and childcare sector ahead of issuing advice and guidance to providers. The CMA has taken time to listen and understand the immense pressure providers were and still are under and recognised this in the context of consumer law.

'During lockdown, settings were forced to close to all but vulnerable

children and those of key workers and had severe limits on their income.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: 'We know that despite the huge challenges childcare providers have faced over recent months, the vast majority have been wholly fair, reasonable and balanced in their dealings with parents and we are glad that this has been recognised by the CMA. ‘We also welcome their acknowledgement of the significant financial pressure that childcare settings have faced which, as we know, are the result of years of inadequate funding. Given how vital the early years sector is to society as a whole, no provider should have ever been put in a position where they were forced to ask parents for the financial support they should have been getting from the government.’

SURVEYS

Pandemic has increased mental health problems among children Eighty per cent of children and young people with mental health problems have said that the coronavirus pandemic had made their mental health worse.

A second survey by children and young people’s mental health charity YoungMinds found that 41% of young people with mental health problems said it had made their mental health “much worse”, up from 32% in the previous survey in March. This was often related to increased feelings of anxiety, isolation, a loss of coping mechanisms or a loss of motivation.

YoungMinds is calling for a Government Recovery Plan for children and young people. https://www.willispalmer.com/young-peoplewith-mental-ill-health-struggling-in-lockdown/ One respondent said: “Self-isolating and social distancing was a bad habit I worked really hard to get out of. Now I’m being made to do it and being told it’s the right thing to do. It’s very confusing and I’m scared of falling back in to that cycle.”

NDNA Scotland snap survey reveals large number of nurseries not reopening NDNA Scotland has taken a snapshot survey of nurseries across Scotland as they are allowed to reopen from today.

Scotland, unlike England did not reopen its nurseries at the beginning of June but is carefully starting the process from today onwards. From the experience we have witnessed in England and Wales, there is always a drop in usual occupancy levels at the beginning but this is to be expected.

Overall, there are still massive concerns about the lack of funding across the sector.

The survey indicates that a large number of nurseries will not reopen today.

Initial findings so far from NDNA Scotland’s snapshot survey: ● 91 responses received representing 148 nursery sites across Scotland ● 44% of settings have not reopened today but will remain closed until a future date ● 74% expect to operate at a loss for the coming three months ● 20% expect to just break even over the coming three months ● Across all sites that will be open, estimated occupancy is 40% ● 86% of respondents say that having to manage bubbles will impact on their staffing and that these requirements are making things less sustainable for providers in the long run.

Food, Glorious Food

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Ask The Key The team at The Key Leadership have a huge wealth of experience, from managing settings, training, business development and HR. In each edition we will answer the most frequently asked questions…

With the constant updates and changes to the sector, how can I ensure I keep my staff informed and up to date without overwhelming them?

Your team won’t need to know every little detail, just what effects their individual job role. Clear and concise communication is essential to ensure that everyone feels in the loop and frustrations are kept to a minimum.

Perhaps hold a team meeting where you agree on how to communicate and who communicates what.

Communicating to the group as a whole is always better than to individuals, this way they all get the same message and rumours are reduced. For example, you may communicate all changes and updates to your deputies and seniors, who then disseminate agreed information to practitioners in their own meetings. Have a staff noticeboard available to share updates on policies and procedures, ensuring everyone understands what

these changes mean in practice.

Check in with staff regularly to ensure they don’t feel overwhelmed and keep communication clear and honest, perhaps having a set day each day whereby you share information, updates etc. This way staff will know what to expect and when, meaning they won’t be in your office every 5 mins with questions.

I am a new leader about to start my first setting manager role in September. The setting has an RI grade. What should I do first? I don’t want to go in like a bull in a china shop, but I need to make some quick changes.

Congratulations on your new role!

Firstly, have confidence, there is a big job ahead, but they employed you as you are the best person for the job.

Start with the staff team. You need them onboard to help you move your setting forward, you won’t be able to do this alone. Work through the RI actions with them. Ask them for their thoughts and ideas and get them excited about the journey ahead. ● Do you have a question for The Key Team? Submit your questions here: www.thekeyleadership.co.uk

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Delegate some of the agreed actions out to practitioners with the skills to support particular areas. Create an action plan with dates for action completion and work through it methodically. Half of the battle is won if Ofsted can see you are aware of the challenges and have a plan to put them right. Good luck!

I have been a manager for the last 8 years but I feel like I have lost my mojo. I seem to spend all my time in the office. How do I get my spark back?

We see this often; you are not alone!

It is so easy to get drawn into the emails, phone calls, marketing, registrations and paperwork and before you know it your day has ended without any time with the children or staff, the part of the job you love the most! You will find that planning your time more effectively will help. Delegate some office tasks out to your deputy to free up some of your time and get into the rooms with the staff and children. Observe and model effective practice, spend time with families at pick up and plan time in your diary to have a lunch break. Think back to when you first qualified, what was it about early years that you enjoyed so much and how can you bring that back into your role again?

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nmtrising star

Many congratulations to our overall winner for 2020 Abi Wills Special Needs Support Assistant

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bi began with us as a housekeeper, and is now a Special Needs Support Assistant providing 1:1 care for Hetty; who has severe global development delay due to a very rare chromosome disorder. Hetty joined Acorn in September 2018 after a family friend had praised how Abi had cared for their child with additional needs.

Abi selflessly came to work throughout lockdown to care for Hetty whilst leaving her own

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Acorn Day Nursery (Acorn Early Years Foundation) – Burton Latimer children at home (including two primary aged children). During lockdown Hetty was unable to attend her support and therapy groups, but Abi was determined to keep some stability and consistency in her life. This was particularly important now as Hetty was due to start school in September and to halt her care and interaction at this stage could greatly impact her transition.

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Abi always ensures that Hetty feels included with the other children, adapting learning experiences to capture her personal interests. Hetty has favourite songs when she hears them she smiles or moves her head more, so Abi recorded her favourite songs onto her touch buttons to enable her to press and select which song she wants to hear.

Hetty’s parents are both frontline workers and Hetty’s attendance at nursery enabled her parents to continue to work and also gave them opportunities to support their son Ellis, at a time when they could not use their normal support of Hetty’s paternal grandparents. Without Abi,

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the nursery would have found it very difficult to care for Hetty as she is non-verbal and non-mobile, and is reliant on specialist equipment. She also benefits hugely from the one to one support and complex care routines that Abi provides; which most of us are inexperienced in.

Hetty is reaching the end of her Acorn journey as she prepares to make the transition onto school, Hetty’s parents have felt quite anxious about this move as Hetty and Abi have a very close attachment that they have developed over the past two years and this will be difficult to replicate. Although Hetty is moving onto a school that provides specialist support, her parents did at one stage consider deferring her for a year, but with Abi’s reassurance they understand that school will help Hetty to progress further with more advanced resources available.

Hetty’s mother wrote:

“Abi at Acorn Burton Latimer is our very own personal ‘Rising Star’, giving continual one to one care and support to my three-year-old daughter – Hetty.

Hetty has severe global development delays due to a very rare chromosome disorder (5q14.3), but Abi has continued to ensure that Hetty is constantly stimulated, engaged, involved and cared for during this very unsettling time of Covid-19.

Both Hetty’s Daddy and I are keyworkers (firefighter and nurse) and there are not words to express our gratitude of the provision of the nursery’s 1-1 care for Hetty – allowing us to continue to work knowing that she is getting all of her physio, fine motor, speech, language and communication therapies – that she would not receive at home.

Hetty has a six year old brother and it has allowed us to focus any spare time we do have on home schooling him, while Hetty is busy making wands at forest school, baking cakes, having her senses stimulated with water, foam, chimes, singing, reading stories and making pictures for the local hospital.

Thank you Abi – forever our star!”

We also received a hand-written letter from Ellis, Hetty’s six year old brother, which includes the following:

“Abi is a brilant star to us because what she dose to Hetty to help mummy… daddy can help people safe and ceep peopl from suffercating in fires while mummy can defeet the covid-19.”

As Abi prepares to bid farewell to Hetty, the nursery has two other children joining us that Abi will care for, one of which is a friend of Hetty’s and was recommended to us by the family.

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Abi has a great interest in supporting children’s additional needs and has completed varying training opportunities provided by Acorn to develop her knowledge further, she is embarking on her level 3 NVQ in early years starting from September.

We called Caroline – Hetty’s Mother to inform her of the wonderful news she said “Oh wow that is absolutely amazing, she deserves it so much. It has brought tears to my eyes. What a perfect ending to Hetty’s time at Acorn, just sums up how amazing Abi has been on this part of her journey and the difference she has truly made. We are sooo pleased.”

We are so proud of Abi for winning this award, and it is so well deserved. The whole nursery is thrilled to bits! ■

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nmtnursery talk

Reflective practice during a crisis and what we learn for the new academic year In the past few months, you may feel that time for reflection has been scarce, but as we start a new academic year, I think the experience has made the sector more reflective than ever, explains Dr Helen Edwards, co-founder and director, The Foundation Stage Forum and Tapestry espite social distancing, lockdown required more rather than less reflective practice. Practitioners had to think deeply about how to support our youngest children and build on their learning at home. They worked hard to devise and suggest learning activities that could easily be carried out with everyday objects around the home. I lost count of the number of activities I saw based on socks!

Lockdown didn’t equate to professional isolation. For many it provided more time for reflecting together on the wellbeing and education of the children in our care.

Staff teams connected in traditional and new ways to think creatively about building a sense of community at a distance for those children not attending, and how to maintain some sense of normality for those who did.

Across the country early years staff discussed a myriad of issues. How

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are we going to allow children to explore and learn, using the (perhaps limited) resources we have? How can we keep communicating with children and families who we are not seeing regularly? How can we make sure we are looking after our colleagues and ourselves?

This really was reflective practice in action. Being a reflective practitioner is something you are, not something that is switched on and off.

As we move forward, I urge nursery leaders to encourage staff to think about how they developed as reflective practitioners during lockdown and discuss how they can continue to be more reflective.

Having a structure for reflection can be very helpful for staff teams.

Early years leaders often check in with staff at the start of their working day, or during a debrief at the end, inviting them to share how they are feeling. However, people

‘As we move forward, I urge nursery leaders to encourage staff to think about how they developed as reflective practitioners during lockdown and discuss how they can continue to be more reflective.’

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sometimes have difficulty talking about their feelings and very often the standard to response to ‘How are you feeling? has become ‘Fine’. End of conversation.

Graham Gibbs developed his ‘Reflective Cycle’ model, which encouraged individuals to think systematically about experiences during a situation or event. It continues to be an extremely useful framework to conduct reflective discussions with your nursery colleagues. The model covers six stages:

1. Describing the experience.

2. Thinking about the feelings and thoughts prompted by the experience.

3. Evaluating the experience (both good and bad).

4. Analysing the experience to make sense of the situation.

5. Concluding – what you learned and what you might have done differently.

6. Considering an action plan for how you would deal with similar situations in the future, including any changes you’d like to make.

Recognising the reflective practitioner in each of us, and how we can consolidate what we have learned individually and as a team, is something to build on as we search for the positives to take with us from this extraordinary year. ■

nmtspecial feature ADVERTORIAL

The Fennies ethos

ver the last decade the childcare industry has become fiercely competitive, nurseries are now offering much more then ‘traditional childcare’ and providers are having to evolve to make their mark in the sector. With parents becoming more aware of the importance of child development during children’s crucial early years, parents are seeking out nursery providers with a unique offering.

With a solid reputation and almost 30 years of experience, Fennies Nurseries newly perfected ethos is giving parents a taste of something new. Sitting at the heart of the business, this ethos gives Fennies a clear vision on where their parent offering sits within the industry.

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Standing on 3 core pillars; your child, their staff and you (the parent), the Fennies offering provides ‘the right start for under 5’s’. Through collaboration and strong partnerships between staff and parents, every aspect of life at Fennies is focused on its children. This effective ethos enables children to flourish academically, culturally, and socially.

Infused with an enhanced EYFS curriculum, Fennies takes children on a journey from 3 months to 5 years where their physical development and abilities are nurtured. Children will prepare for each transition giving them the skills and knowledge which will prepare them for their next educational step into primary school.

Fennies ethos

Although many nursery providers will offer similar educational programs the way Fennies implements their offering is

The Fennies difference

ultimately unique. To achieve outstanding quality in every aspect, the Fennies team includes specialists from multiple fields including, Childcare, Human Resources, Communications, Construction and Health and Well-being. Creating bespoke opportunities for children, parents, and staff.

These bespoke opportunities include extensive and continuous training, giving practitioners the tools to spark creativity by exploring children’s natural curiosity and individual interests. From this staff create individually tailored activities which cover core subjects including Math’s and science.

Health and safety is an ongoing commitment that is woven into everyday life at Fennies and they are proud members of RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents). Distinguishable from other providers, Fennies health and safety specialists provide both parents and staff with key knowledge to entwine safety techniques into children’s everyday routines.

To ensure children are receiving the best start in life, health and wellbeing is at the core of Fennies life.

Their wholesome meals have been designed with a team of registered nutritionists providing healthy, nutritionally balanced meals, that support children’s growth and development. These meals are accredited by the Early Years Nutrition Partnership, a collaboration led by the Early Years Alliance with support from the British Nutrition Foundation. Under this accreditation all meals are freshly prepared and provided across all 11 of their nursery settings. www.nmt-magazine.co.uk

The journey children experience at Fennies are ultimately supported by their visionary environments. Whilst currently its known there is scope for providers to lead with acquiring new sites from a takeover view, Fennies builds and develops locations from a new build perspective.

Due to this Fennies nurseries have been meticulously designed by their in- house buildings team,this unique partnership allows educators to have an input into the design and layout of rooms. Each nursery is designed and built to be reflective of each stage of development and is fitted with innovative resources that promote independent skills as children grow.

Visionary environments

Despite a challenging year for the Industry, Fennies vision and appetite for evolution has allowed them to continue to grow. During the COVID-19 pandemic this nursery provider kept all settings open to support key workers and since reopening fully in July has managed to welcome back nearly all families.

Offering such a unique experience for families, will allow Fennies to continue to take great strides in leading the industry to shift the nursery experience. Early Years providers play a core role in shaping the next generation and Fennies Nurseries believe their ethos is the platform to Launch your child into educational success. ■

2020 and beyond

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nmtfocus Tigers Childcare launched in 2003 when its CEO, Karen Clince saw a gap in the Irish market for high-quality after school childcare. The company then expanded to deliver early years services across the greater Dublin region. In this interview, Karen speaks to Briony Richter about Tigers journey and opening in the UK market.

Welcoming Tigers Childcare I to the UK n Ireland, CEO Karen Clince operates 13 childcare centres, employing more than 160 people and catering for over 1,200 children.

The company has continued to grow and recently entered the UK in 2020.

BR: Karen thanks for speaking to NMT. Can you tell me what led you to establishing Tigers Childcare?

KC: I guess I have always loved working with children but when I finished school I went and completed a degree in marketing and went to work at a software company and absolutely hated it and realised that just doing something for the financial gain was not for me.

I was pregnant at 20 and was made redundant and this gave me time to refocus and think what would be best for me and for my new daughter. So, I went back and did a special needs course and went to work in a primary school and just loved it. I had really found my place but while I was there, I started to notice the lack of school aged childcare and so I set up after-school childcare. I had gone to the Principal with the idea and he gave 16 NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY

me the room free for the first year so we kicked off the programme. What I wanted to do was focus on what children actually needed after the school day and help them with their emotional and social development and we saw massive changes.

Children that were quite shy were opening up and becoming more social. It really helped them as there

were lower numbers of pupils but more teachers available for support and they learnt how to communicate better with each other.

BR: How did it progress after that?

KC: After that there was a new opportunity as a new curriculum was being built for early years

Tigers Childcare in Ashbourne, County Meath, Ireland

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nmtfocus

The new Tigers Childcare setting in Elephant & Castle, London

education in Ireland and the Government wanted our opinion on the social and emotional development and how we changed.

We had gone from a system in Ireland that was very much like school for pre-school children where they came in and we gave them the learning to do. We knew from our research that this wasn’t the best way for children to learn so the new curriculum was looking at following the child’s lead and having space for them to explore.

The national curriculum was built out and is very similar to your EYFS curriculum and I helped worked on that. Then we set up a number of pre-school services in school based on that and we had an opportunity seven years ago to look at doing full purpose built services for young children and we thought we could add something to that as well so we started doing early years. At this time there was a huge exposé in the Irish market where a similar show to Panorama, a programme called Prime Time, went and did undercover operations within full daycare services. The findings were really poor and this led to a change in the industry with a lot more training available.

Later on we had an opportunity to acquire the Bright Horizons business and then four years ago we took over the remainder of their business and that has brought us to where we are today and I suppose our whole ethos is based on making

sure that we put the right things in place such as high quality environment and teachers. The business became successful because we focused on what we could do to create the best outcomes for children.

BR: It has certainly been an interesting journey for you. What, in your opinion, makes Tigers Childcare different to others in the market?

KC: I think it’s all about what a parent wants for their child when they are being looked after by us and what that comes down to is making it individualised so that the workers are looking at each child’s path and creating a really authentic environment for them. The staff really love the children and we understand how the children learn.

We have a big emphasis on the children having a say in what they are doing because a lot of behavioural problems come from a lack of being able to communicate and express themselves.

Therefore, from a young age we use the high skilled resolution model with them. We talk them through and ask them what they think about the situation. What we have seen from this method is that more and more we watch children solve their own conflicts and I think that makes us slightly different.

Our educators understand Jennie Johnson CEO of the Yearthat 2017 something will work for one child www.nmt-magazine.co.uk

that doesn’t work for another but by having a strong relationship with the children they are able to address each one in a way that relates to them.

I suppose we use mainly two methods. For our very young children we use soothe and support.

If a young child is very upset, they are not going to be able to listen to you until you have calmed them and that works well for the young ones. Then we use our conflict resolution for the older children to give them the independence to learn how to cope in a stressful situation.

BR: What do you think underpins your success in your growth?

KC: I think it certainly was focusing on those key points on how we support children in their learning.

We understand what is important in terms of environment but also, our colleagues are massively important to our success. Giving our staff great working conditions and good pay means we are able to retain excellent staff members. All of our staff have monthly supervision meetings and when you start you have weekly meetings for at least two months.

We also financially support our staff’s journey if they want to go to college or learn anything extra.

Retaining staff instantly improves your service as the parents see the same team every day that they know and trust. Looking after our colleagues has been huge in our ➤

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nmtfocus ➤ success and that is because word

of mouth means we can open up almost anywhere in Ireland.

Of course, we are new to the UK market so we have to put in the groundwork as we did when we started in Ireland. We have an audit team that do monthly audits and I give feedback to settings I visit monthly and all of that makes it easier to grow.

BR: You have entered the UK but lockdown started just three weeks after you opened in London.

KC: Yeah, I remember we closed in Ireland on the 12th of March and I was actually in Elephant & Castle when we got the notice that we had to close. It was a shock and very hard but everyone was in the same boat. It was really important to reassure the parents that we would take all the necessary steps to reopen safely and also do viewings in a safe manner.

We were so pleased when we reopened and hopefully, we will remain open. We took an approach to look at the three areas that we could to keep ourselves Covid free.

So, we looked at the environment first and how we could keep that environment safe. Then we looked at our colleagues and how they can come into work safely. Then we looked at the children and families as well. It was very intense and we put a set of policies in place that would keep us as safe as we could be, including a number of policies to track the virus if we got hit with infections. In practice you have to put the children first and make sure they can settle well when they come.

BR: Why London?

KC: We looked at a couple of locations and although we still have a way to go in Ireland, we wanted to see what other opportunities were available. We looked in the UK and in Dubai as well, but we were attracted to Elephant & Castle which had a diverse mix of people and 18 NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY

families, all coming from very different backgrounds. For me, it’s important to have a nursery in these areas to be the point of change and have children from all backgrounds learn and grow together. To be honest that’s why we went for it and we didn’t think that we were going to win it as we were up against some big operators but I suppose they liked our approach. However, it has been so worth it. In the area you have the old Elephant & Castle community and then newer people coming into that community.

BR: So, what is your new setting like at Elephant & Castle?

KC: At Elephant & Castle we offer full daycare services from four months old to 12 years and we do an element of after school. Generally, there are two ways in which we offer our free pre-school years so if you’re coming full time you use it against the hours that you do during your full-time week, whether that is two and up to five days but we also offer two sessional pre-school services.

This includes two to three-hour sessions from 9am to 12noon and from 12.30 to 3.30pm. Children in the community can come without any fee whatsoever so it really is a service for the whole community.

The setting itself is quite different.

We wanted something really playful. However, we also focused on the changes we are seeing with children. Many children are cosleeping and feel safe when they are close to an adult they trust so it can be really detrimental to put them into a cot room that they are not used to. That’s why we have crawl in spaces in rooms. In the baby room we have crawl in bassinets so the children that like to self soothe and like to be close to adults have both those environments. Of course, for older children we have larger crawl in spaces so anytime in the day that they are sleepy that’s available to them.

We were lucky enough to have outdoor space within central London. It’s a very playful and natural looking space with lots of wood and activities for the children.

The children absolutely love it and we haven’t had a parent come through yet that hasn’t signed their child up.

BR: Whats the expansion plan now?

KC: We will stay focused on the UK in the short term. It’s been a great experience, really interesting and the team and I are loving it. I would always be looking at what’s the next thing for us but right now we want to build our brand here in the UK and keep doing what we love. ■ September / October 2020

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nmtmanager’s helpline

Despite ongoing challenges facing the sector, we’re still very keen to lend to nurseries – here’s why s a lender, OakNorth Bank is sector agnostic and we focus on loans of £0.5m-£25m (though of course we go higher) to profitable, high-growth businesses and established property developers. Since our launch in September 2015, we’ve lent over £4.5bn to hundreds of UK businesses and have grown our debt finance teams in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Our clients include: care homes, schools, bars, restaurants, hotels, private equity firms, debt funds, professional services companies, property developers, hydroponics companies and of course, nurseries and day cares.

The nursery sector is one we’ve done several loans to in the last few years and is one we’re keen to do more with. Here’s why.

It’s an already incredibly popular sector with HUGE growth potential The Department for Education (DfE) has calculated that an additional 45,000 full-time nursery places will be needed to cope with the extra demand caused by the extension of free early education, as childcare for those in the 0-14 population is projected to increase by 300,000 this year. According to research from Christie’s & Co, the demand for children’s day nurseries continued to exceed the supply, fuelling ongoing growth and investment in the sector. Pre-crisis, Christie & Co’s research also stated that the appetite for good quality schools remained strong and

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As a debt finance director working at OakNorth Bank, I often get asked what sectors lenders are most interested in lending to and where I see the greatest growth potential.

Stuart Blair, debt finance director at OakNorth Bank explains why the bank is still there to support nurseries through this crisis.

account for nearly 40% of the population, meaning the region will likely see demand significantly grow in the coming years. This makes it very attractive for lenders such as OakNorth, especially as without wanting to sound crass(!) many are predicting a boom in birth rates this year and next year due to the lockdown / more people staying at home, which will mean the demand for nurseries in 2-3 years’ time nationally could be even higher.

As the need for nurseries and day cares continues to rise, nursery owners need a lender that is willing to be flexible, move quickly and take the time to design a loan that is bespoke to their unique needs. Due to legacy systems and processes, we anecdotally hear from nursery operators that we speak to that it can take anywhere from six to nine months to get an answer from their bank, even if it’s a no. The opportunity cost of having to wait several months to transact or get an approval on a loan can ‘The nursery and day care sector is a heavily regulated be hugely detrimental which is why at industry which means there should be good corporate OakNorth Bank, our USP is on designing a governance and management in place.’ bespoke facility, quickly. On average, we

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activity continued to be high across the sector. With more demand for sites, there’ll be more demand for capital to acquire and develop those sites which creates a great opportunity for eager lenders such as OakNorth Bank.

Earlier this year, my colleague, Mohith Sondhi, completed a £750k debt finance deal to Bright Minds Daycare, a premium independent nursery group founded in Birmingham, to fund refurbishment and working capital requirements, as well as purchase new equipment.

The deal gave OakNorth the opportunity to support two entrepreneurs and a strong management team – the business’ Operations Director has over 20 years’ experience in childcare and has previously run 11 nurseries across the Midlands. Pre-Covid occupancy rates for nurseries in Birmingham averaged 75%, but as one of the youngest cities of any major cities in Europe, under 25s

September / October 2020

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nmtmanager’s helpline ‘As the need for nurseries and day cares continues to rise, nursery owners need a lender that is willing to be flexible, move quickly and take the time to design a loan that is bespoke to their unique needs’ complete deals in 40 days and two thirds of the qualified leads we get come from recommendations from existing borrowers.

It’s a heavily regulated sector which makes it more attractive from a risk perspective The nursery and day care sector is a heavily regulated industry (as it should be) which means there should be good corporate governance and management in place. Similar to care homes which are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the nursery space is regulated by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted). If a school or day care wants to get a good or outstanding Ofsted rating, it must adhere to a specific set of guidelines and meet all the necessary educational requirements imposed.

From a lending perspective, Ofsted ratings make it easier to identify strong nurseries and management teams, as these ratings help lenders assess the leadership and education quality. If you can see that a nursery’s Ofsted rating has increased over the years or has maintained its high rating, that speaks volumes about the business and its future growth potential.

There will be many businesses that were strong, profitable, healthy businesses before the pandemic which will now be struggling to survive. We are trying to find ways to support these businesses and help them as we emerge from lockdown and grapple with ongoing concern of a potential second wave. We want to look back on this time and know that as a society, we came together to support

Lending amidst Covid-19

Stuart Blair is debt finance director at OakNorth Bank

one another, to help the vulnerable, and to protect SMEs. That is why we have continued to lend throughout this period, approving an average of £100m in new loans every month since the lockdown began in March, and why we became an accredited lender via the British Business Bank’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS).

Under CBILS, we were able to provide a loan to Essex-based www.nmt-magazine.co.uk

nursery, Little Explorers, in June to support the development and refurbishment of a second nursery.

With the nursery at almost full capacity (90%) pre-Covid-19, Little Explorers was able to demonstrate its successful track record and viability prior to the lockdown, a requirement under the government’s scheme. Little Explorers has achieved a Good Ofsted rating and developed a strong reputation in the region having received a number of accolades, including a nomination as one of the top 20 nurseries in London. ■

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nmtspecial feature ADVERTORIAL

Making a step change to enjoy simple, stress-free catering for children In this – the first of a three-part feature series – NMT follows Step Start Mountnessing Nursery in Brentwood as it looks to make changes in its meals provision and find new and successful ways to cater for its children. In this issue, we look at the reasons Step Start Mountnessing opted for change (at a time when food safety and nutrition has never been so important), and how the team went about finding a simple, stress free catering solution. ituated in the heart of Essex, Step Start Mountnessing has been open since August 2017 and enjoyed a rapid growth in numbers in the subsequent three years. Founded by husband and wife team, Robert and Danielle Finnerty (formerly a primary school teacher), the nursery is managed by Sophie England who has responsibility for the day-to-day running all services attributed to the nursery.

The nursery is open all year round and offers full day care, holiday care, and sessional nursery care. And, with 83 children registered at the nursery looked after by 15 full time staff, it is always a busy, thriving, and happy environment.

Sophie is currently leading the opening of a second nursery in Braintree, which opened its doors in early September and promises the

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same values as Step Start Mountnessing, including a passion to provide a homely and education-rich environment for every individual child in order to provide them with the best start in their early education and development.

Providing nutritious meals for its children is a priority for Step Start.

Children are given both a hot lunch and a hot tea, which compromise of a main meal and a dessert. According to Sophie, the numbers can change daily as across the 83 children, there is the inevitable instance of absenteeism due to illness, as well as fluctuations in sessional care and holiday cover, which means that numbers can change at short notice.

When Step Start took the decision to review its catering provision within the nursery, this was not a decision taken lightly. Sophie explains: ‘We had been using a food meals provider for some time and whilst there was nothing actually wrong with it – there was something missing, and we felt that it wasn’t giving us what we needed. ‘Whilst the meals were nutritionally balanced, there were a great deal of what we call ‘wet’ meals i.e. sauces -

September / October 2020

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Sophie England (left) and Danielle Finnerty (right) with children in their nursery care.

and especially curries and spicy food, which our children didn’t always like. And in some cases, the meals we serve are the only meals that our children will have all day, so it is very important they are enjoying and eating their food. We were also concerned about wastage, as we were experiencing higher levels than what we would have liked’.

Sophie’s previous experience was invaluable during this review as she had formerly worked in nurseries which employed in-house teams working shifts to cater for meals that they cooked completely on site.

‘I quickly learned that there were some significant challenges with fresh cook, which impacted on the service nurseries could provide to children. For example, where there was control of all ingredients in the kitchen, nutrition wasn’t always the top priority as budget issues would often dictate outcomes.

‘Considerable space was needed for storage of ingredients, and of course, space is a costly overhead.

Furthermore, the amount of time it took to break down the costs of each ingredient (which could change regularly in line with seasonality and market conditions), whilst also catering for a range of allergens, was time intensive and expensive.

‘When it came to labour and resourcing, the cost in covering absenteeism, combined with the above points, brought home the challenges of cooking all meals from scratch on site to meet nutritional quality standards, whilst accommodating flexibility and

nmtspecial feature ADVERTORIAL

Simple, stress-free, safe mealtimes With over 200 meal options to choose from within the whole apetito range – there is something to suit every child’s taste and dietary needs, whilst also delivering great value at a time when cost is front of mind for all. An apetito main meal and dessert (consisting of a protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates), costs just £1.80 per child with dessert and lighter tea-time options also available for a small additional cost.

individual needs in a way that was consistent and cost-effective’.

Exploring the market and new providers…

Sophie set out to look at new meals providers and inspiration came in an unusual way…

‘I was actually on holiday and thinking (whilst driving) about how we needed to change our meals provider, when one of the apetito vans drove past me’ she says.

‘The messaging on the van intrigued me, so I later googled it and liked what I saw, and invited the team to come and meet us at Step Start and have a discussion around what the company could offer. The biggest test for us was the food itself.

When Simon and Amy – as ‘team apetito’ - came to see us a few days later, they brought a range of meals for us all to try. We shared these across all our team and with our children and the reaction was unanimous – they loved the meals….

‘Elements that were of primary importance to us in making any change that were foremost in these discussions: Quality of the meals – we were not prepared to compromise food or nutritional quality on any level and in the case of apetito – neither did we need to. The dining experience was excellent. ● We wanted to only cook ‘what we needed to cook’… a variety of formats in terms of meal tray sizes so we could be flexible to ‘dial up’ or ‘down’ our menus according to short-term need each day (whether that meant additional numbers, or ●

conversely, reduce numbers in line with short term absenteeism which could not be predicted until the day itself), and ultimately saving time and money. ● We were keen to adopt the concept of creating our own menus on a rolling, four-weekly basis. ● We needed a meals provider that accounted for allergens in a way that was simple and stress free.

Guaranteeing allergen safety is of enormous importance to us – many of our children have allergies and this is a growing challenge. We wanted to be able to offer a child with allergens the same recipe flavours that other children were eating (so, they wouldn’t feel ‘different’ – but could still consume a meal in complete safety). ● We also considered how to ensure food safety (and consistency) in our kitchens under the Coronavirus pandemic. We wanted meals that could be cooked easily from frozen, stored in a freezer outside that could be moved to inside before cooking alongside service elements such as contactless deliveries. ● And of course, we wanted good value but without compromising any of the above.

apetito offered a range of service features which mirrored Step Start’s thinking and aspiration.

‘We could be more flexible with our menus’ says Sophie “whilst knowing the price of every meal on the menu, so costing was straightforward.

‘It was clear that dietary requirements could be easily met with a range of meals to cater for all

Making the change…

14 known allergens, that were all clearly labelled and on an easy online ordering system.

‘There would be no need to worry about deliveries and sanitising every delivery. Everything could be delivered through contactless delivery and placed into freezers ready to be brought inside on a ‘need’ basis.

‘We could choose whether we would like to place weekly orders in advance or if we want to work ahead (for example, holidays), then I could order three or four weeks’ ahead’.

After consultation across the business, Sophie took the decision to make the change to apetito and mobilisation was set for four weeks later. It involved some changes to equipment in context of freezer space, and a new oven to ensure meals were cooked to their best.

‘And yes, there was some nervousness’ says Sophie. ‘We’re all human and change is never undertaken lightly but we had faith in the apetito’ team’. ■ ●

Read in NMT’s next issue (November/December issue), how Step Start Mountnessing made the change. Did implementation go to plan and was making change as seamless as expected – were there any pitfalls along the way?

● For nursery owners and managers who would like to enjoy an apetito food sample tasting session, or discuss how apetito can support their business, please open the pop up on the site and register your details at www.apetito.co.uk/nursery-meal-services or phone 01225 562882

www.nmt-magazine.co.uk

September / October 2020

NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY 23

nmttraining

A research project into the impact of Covid-19 on early years settings Reacting to the changes Covid-19 presents has allowed many settings to re-evaluate and adapt. Gill Mason, head of training & development at Kids Planet Day Nurseries talks about a research project into the impact of Covid-19. ids Planet Day Nurseries are a family owned nursery group providing care and education for 7500 children in the northwest of England and in the Midlands.

As with all early years’ settings, our practice has been greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Recognizing this at an early stage, and through listening to many moving reflections from our practitioners I was very conscious that we needed to act quickly to capture these reflections in the moment as we experienced the changes on an almost daily basis I approached York St John University, and in April 2020, agreed a research partnership to ‘investigate the impact of Covid19 on early years practitioners and the implications for young children in our care’ with the support of Dr Joan Walton, senior lecturer at York St John Dr Joan Walton University.

The research project is still ongoing, but early findings are already revealing interesting insights. Firstly, practitioners themselves have an increased sense of the value of their own role in these challenging times, leading to a growth in self-belief and confidence.

K

24 NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY

Secondly, not only have parents realised the worth of practitioners in the lives of their children, but it has led to a number of parents interested in receiving information about training to be an early years professional, including fathers.

Given the historical difficulties in attracting men to the sector, this is a particularly noteworthy outcome of the pandemic. Finally, but less positively, the government, although initially identifying early years as ‘Key Workers’, have failed postlockdown to provide the same kind of financial support they are offering other sectors. Consequently, although the global crisis created a positive shift in the way many parents and practitioners perceived early years work with young children, considerable effort will need to be sustained if wider society is to experience the same shift. It is the purpose of this research to contribute to that enterprise.

Practitioners recognise their own value

Working with young children has often been seen by wider society as an easy occupation. The clichéd comment of hair or care unfortunately prevails, if girls are not successful at school, they can always go into childcare or hairdressing. This can be demoralising for those who enter the profession by choice, understanding the importance of early years, during which young children require

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individualised care and education to suit their unique needs.

As one of the respondents said in the research: ‘I think the early years sector has always been overlooked as glorified babysitters who are paid a minimal wage.’

However, through the research project the experience of being identified as Key Workers during lockdown has made a difference to how practitioners believe others see them, and indeed in how they see themselves: ‘I think nursery staff, along with others, are being seen as forgotten heroes during this time. I do think people’s perceptions have changed somewhat, and to be honest, so have mine.’

Another wrote: ‘I remember reading in the paper when the list of Key Workers was announced and when I saw that early years practitioners were listed, I commented to a colleague, ‘well that's the first time our job’s been called essential.’

One practitioner was driving into work and was stopped by Manchester police checking on the purpose of her visit. She expressed great pride when giving her account of showing her Key Worker status papers, and to be recognised as such by the police, saying that for once, she felt truly acknowledged and appreciated.

nmttraining This view was repeated on many occasions during the research, expressed in many different ways, but the overall sense summarised by the practitioner who said: ‘It has been great to feel like I am making a difference and playing my part in keeping the world moving.’

The research has identified that an impact of Covid-19 is not just that the practitioners are seeing themselves to be of greater value; they are experiencing a greater respect from parents.

‘There have been lots of comments from parents about how they have realized the true nature and extent of our roles and the important part we play in their children’s lives.’

Another wrote: ‘I totally agree that parents have had time to reflect how much we do and how important our role is to the children’.

A consequence of lockdown has been that many parents have had to spend more time with their children, and have realized how challenging it can be to use that time constructively.

One practitioner wrote: ‘Parents have found that time with their children is so beneficial, but they have also realized how key nursery is to their child’s development.’

This realisation has led to a number of parents expressing an interest in joining the profession. For example, one father has now written to KP to enquire about making a career change from his present role as chef, to becoming an early years professional:

‘Since the Pandemic and lockdown I have been spending extra time minding my children, which has made me think how important a job this is.’

He, and others, are applying for apprenticeships which, despite the low wage whilst training, give them the opportunity to learn the knowledge and skills to care and educate young children whilst ‘on the job’.

I particularly want to build on this new awareness to encourage more fathers to join the profession. Working in partnership with the Fatherhood Institute, a highly respected charity which runs the MITEY (Men In The Early Years) network/campaign, we have just heard we have been successful in a competitive bid for funding to recruit men to the apprenticeship programme in Greater Manchester.

reflect on their roles and on the During lockdown, despite being nature of their relationships with formally named as Key Workers, and parents. What is coming through benefiting from furlough, strongly is the courage and resilience practitioners have not been of practitioners, who, despite their convinced that government truly own feelings of fear and anxiety, understands and appreciates their have consistently thought about the role. children’s needs. They have used ‘I feel parents now have a much their creativity and imagination to greater respect for what we do, turn something that was potentially however this does not translate into scary into something fun. As a the government.’ consequence, the risk of the This feeling has increased since the pandemic having a long-term end of lockdown. The sector is once traumatic impact on the mental again feeling neglected, because health of young children cared for by resources are not being put into early Kids Palnet has been minimized, and years, and have been excluded from their wellbeing safeguarded. the list of sectors mentioned As the research continues, a deeper specifically as needing help. understanding of the impact of The danger is, that having seen the Covid-19 will emerge. A major status of early years become elevated challenge will be finding ways in since March, it feels to practitioners which the research can be used to that they are now – again – being inform and influence government minimized in importance. In their policy. We invite others who share funding and policy-making, the that wish to make contact with us, government are including schools and perhaps discuss ways in which and the National Health Service but we can collaborate in this important not early years: yet without early endeavour. ■ year’s settings, other professionals can’t return to work. ● Gill Mason is Head of Training and Overall, the research project Development at Kids Planet Day Nurseries undertaken with York St John W: kidsplanetdaynurseries.co.uk university has encouraged early years professionals to

Perceptions of government intervention

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September / October 2020

NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY 25

nmttechnology

Has parent communication

changed for good?

At this point in the pandemic, using Zoom calls and pre-recorded videos to stay in touch is muscle memory. We can be certain that the way we use technology to communicate, collaborate and share has changed forever. But how have childcare providers adopted this technology into their practices, and how will the sector use it moving forward? Aaron Hathawa and Matt Arnerich from nursery software provider Famly explain. t the start of 2020, I don’t think any of us were prepared to see inside so many strangers’ homes.

We’ve scrutinised celebrities’ home decor during webcam interviews, and pored over politicians’ bookshelves as they give press conferences on Zoom.

Among the many changes of this pandemic, we’ve gotten used to digital communication being more constant, more informal, and more personal. But what’s this mean for early years providers?

After several months subsisting largely on remote relationships, families have come to expect a stronger digital connection with their child care providers. For the sector, this changing dynamic brings both new challenges and new opportunities.

A

Innovations during the pandemic

When the pandemic first hit, child care providers had to adapt at the 26 NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY

drop of a hat. They set up makeshift home offices, and worked overtime to find some way to stay connected with all the families at home. We’ve seen so many wonderful initiatives — dance parties on Zoom, weekly wellness check-ins with parents, virtual field trips, scavenger hunts to get the children out in nature.

For many families, having this communication with child care providers was a lifeline through the lockdown. The daily activities and check-ins helped parents structure their day, kept the little ones engaged, and gave everyone a muchneeded sense of normalcy.

But on top of that, it showed families just how vital child care is.

Having these digital windows gave parents a clearer look at the creativity,

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resourcefulness and hard work that providers bring every single day.

Child care helped keep families together through this crisis, and that’s something parents won’t soon forget.

The lines of communication we built during the lockdown are here to stay. This isn’t to say that providers need to keep doing video lessons and virtual activities — but moving forward, child care providers should expect that parents will want stronger, clearer communication than they have in the past.

Is ‘good enough’ good enough these days?

The short answer is no. Let’s look at communication — suppose as a provider, you connect with your

nmttechnology families across a sprawl of different digital platforms. Maybe some parents are in an email chain, a few more in an iMessage group chat, more still in a WhatsApp group (with its own spread of GDPR problems), and then a handful in a Facebook group.

This sort of setup eats up everybody’s time, because you’ve got to touch base across three or four platforms just to stay in touch. Plus, when you’re spread out, things fall through the cracks. Parents might miss a video of their child making a marvellous macaroni noodle collage, or a reminder that their monthly fees are due.

Especially now, when everyone’s already feeling maxed out about how much we’re on our screens, child care should solve problems, not make new ones. Smart software is a winwin for providers and parents. It’s a way to modernize, bringing all the daily administration and communication into one simple, straightforward place.

Why does child care need a tech upgrade?

Fundamentally, child care software is about two things: Keeping us connected, and allowing providers to do their jobs more easily while saving time. Especially as we return from lockdown, both of these functions are critical to the personal and professional aspects of running a successful child care setting.

Most apps and software are designed to hold your attention, dazzling you with autoplay videos and colourful ads. Child care software is the opposite. You should get the most utility for the least amount of time and stress, and the same goes for the parents on the other side of the software.

The right child care software can be a selling point for your setting. If it looks clean and modern, works like it ought to, and saves everybody time from the start, that’s a huge reassurance to families and staff alike. It’s like using high-quality tools — it shows that you’re serious about your work, and invested in it.

What to look for in childcare software Child care software has got to be easy. It’s got to be something that

parents and staff can pick up and immediately get the hang of, something that works and feels like apps they already use.

Moreover, it’s got to have communication at the heart of everything.

Personal relationships are the foundation of child care, so the technology has to reflect that. It’s got to be built, from the ground up, to help everyone share personal news, daily highlights and important updates.

Communication can’t be an afterthought addon to a management system.

During the deepest months of lockdown, we experienced just how important communication is in child care with the launch of Famly Live.

Famly Live is the video conferencing feature we added to our platform — when we were all stuck at home, we wanted to give families a personal way to see one another’s faces and say hello.

We were overwhelmed by the community response, with so many settings telling us how important it was for staff, parents and children to have such a straightforward, personal way to stay in touch. It’s easy to take good communication for granted, but it’s the bedrock of the relationships that make child care run.

Learning lessons from lockdown

If we’re finding silver linings in this difficult year, we’ve seen that new technology not only strengthens relationships between child care providers and parents, but also makes the hard work and expertise of the sector all the more visible.

Having good communication is essential here. It streamlines every aspect of administrative tasks, saves time, and gives more colour and character to the relationships www.nmt-magazine.co.uk

between providers, parents and children. From our experience in quarantine, we’ve seen how providers who had effective, direct tech solutions to stay in touch are coming out of lockdown in a stronger position.

While the sector eases back into the familiar routines of real life, providers should see their quarantine communications as a deepening — not an interruption — of the relationships they built before this pandemic. Child care management software, with communications at the core, is the most direct way to keep building on these relationships.

Parent communication has always mattered, but now it’s more important than ever. ■

● W: https://famly.co/

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NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY 27

nmtspecial feature ADVERTORIAL

Growing your business in uncertain times With the UK now officially in the grip of a recession and thousands of people losing their jobs, it may not seem like the best of times to start growing your business. Here, we find out how one of the newest nursery groups in the UK has set its sights on expansion. hile many nurseries right now are battening down the hatches and preparing for the economic storm that is looming, one nursery group is charging full steam ahead with major expansion plans.

The Family First nursery group, led by former Asquith CEO Andy Morris, had already acquired four Little Garden nurseries in London and the Prima Montessori in Gillingham before the country was snared by the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the backing of August Equity, the company is now on the

W

acquisition trail and plans to double in size before the year is out, with each individual nursery retaining its own identity. It has recently acquired Bizzy Bees in Worcester Park and Acorn Montessori in Harrow and has its sights set on growing to 40 nurseries within a 25mile radius of London over the next four years – all aspiring to achieve Ofsted’s Outstanding status.

“This isn’t about growing a business for the sake of it,” says Andy, who is Chairman of Family First. “We see this as an amazing opportunity to create a new, sizeable

quality childcare provider, run by managers who are empowered to run their own nurseries.

“We’re looking for nurseries to join us that have character and share the same ethos and vision, ones that we can learn from. We want to embrace and enhance them. We want to collectively make a REAL difference to childcare.”

Andy, 57, grew the Asquith brand to 92 nurseries – 40 of them Outstanding – before selling the £60 million turnover group in 2016 to Bright Horizons. He then headed out to Australia, to help grow the OAC Childcare Group from 24 nurseries to 79.

“What excited me when I returned was the personal challenge of starting afresh without any infrastructure or support. We’ve worked hard to create a new culture and to get the people who define that culture, who share the same principles about supporting and caring for others in order to provide outstanding childcare. We are on the same journey together. We don’t want to build another Asquith. We want to create something even better.”

A key focus for Family First, as its name suggests, is gearing everything towards the needs of the family, particularly in the current climate.

“This means really understanding how our parents are feeling, what’s going on in their lives and how we can help. Many of them may be facing redundancy and unemployment or personal issues, and while we have no intention of intruding, our job is to make their lives easier.

“We saw this during lockdown when we kept our nurseries open for key workers. It was a stressful time for them. Meanwhile, other parents

Putting the family first

28 NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY

September / October 2020

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nmtspecial feature ADVERTORIAL

were at home, many of them holding down full-time jobs while trying to look after nursery-age and preschool children as well as home school their older ones. But we did everything in our power to support them through the challenges they faced.

“This meant setting up video conferencing sessions online so our nursery staff could keep in touch with all our families at home and keep the children educated and entertained, which made it so much easier when they eventually returned to the nursery at the beginning of June.

“We were only able to do that thanks to a £350,000 investment in our five nurseries – a third of which was on new IT systems and equipment, including software, eyLog and new computers, laptops and phones. We needed to give people the tools to empower them so they could work from home, when necessary. We had 2,000 interactions with parents during lockdown.”

The big investment, however, has been in the organisation’s staff, starting with a blank piece of paper to develop a culture that is one of empowerment. “We don’t want a management structure with tiers of staff checking up on our nursery managers and their teams. Instead, our focus is on training and development, instilling in every Nursery Manager a sense of ownership of everything that’s happening within their own nursery.”

A number of former Asquith employees have filled positions

Developing a new culture

across the company, including a newly created role of ‘Employee Experience Partner’, who will work with each member of staff to develop the new culture, understand their ambitions and guide them through personal career growth, at the same time supporting and developing Nursery Managers in their roles.

Andy added: “There’s no point in giving people the title of Nursery Manager and not giving them responsibility. It’s not just about childcare, they need to support their colleagues and parents, they need to understand how the business operates, about maintenance, marketing and IT and even profit and loss.

“We give them a huge amount of support, we are transparent and open and our ‘we’ culture is one of consultation, of listening and sharing ideas. Our approach is one of positivity and being kind and, as a thank you, we took some of our team to a designer shopping outlet and gave them £200 each – with the proviso that they could only spend the money on themselves. It’s important to show people that you value them.

“In return, we expect our Nursery Managers to act with pride, passion and care, as if it were their own business. It’s what makes the difference between Good and Outstanding.

“Nursery care is one of most important and expensive financial commitments a family can make so we need to get it right. They need to be given the best showround, the best customer service; their children www.nmt-magazine.co.uk

need to be given the best experience, the best food; every part of our business needs to be the best.

“When I look at a business, I believe you need to be the spider that sits on top of the web and you need to feel everything because everyone is sending you a message.

The question is are you really listening to parents and staff and matching up the jigsaw puzzle.

“This is the time we need to understand everything; information is critical. Unless we have key measurements we will fail, because the parent will change on us on a daily or weekly basis. We need to know what they are thinking and to have our lines of communication open.”

Over the years, Andy has made a difference to over 1.4 million children who have been in his care.

“I have my own children and grandchildren but treat every child that comes into one of our nurseries as my own child,” he says. “I will work to protect them with everything I have.

“I have the ultimate respect for everyone involved in childcare. It’s not just a job. We have a duty of care to every parent, staff member and child – and this duty cannot be taken lightly.” ■ ● If you are interested in finding out more about Family First, please contact: andy@lgdngroup.com T: 0207 622 0484

September / October 2020

NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY 29

nmtwestminster Covid-19 has hit an already struggling early years sector hard. Briony Richter looks at the growing number of childcare closures and the need for Government to step up.

Actions not words to save the sector from more closures

pening up from the Covid-19 pandemic has allowed many businesses to get their usual operations back up and running.

However, there is a storm brewing that won’t be calmed until decisive action is taken.

The UK could get hit by a wave of nursery closures which would prevent many parents from going back to work.

Around a quarter of nurseries, pre-schools and childminders have warned that they may not be able to survive this crisis. It is a dire situation and one that should have never have been allowed to happen.

The sector has always struggled to get the proper funding from Government and there has been no significant additional funding given during this pandemic. Each support package announced has completely excluded the sector and now we are witnessing hundreds of nurseries and childminders closing every month.

High quality childcare is essential for working parents and our economic recovery.

The Labour Party has warned of a “perfect storm” of rising childcare costs and thousands of providers at risk of closure due to a lack of government support will make it impossible for many parents to return to work.

O

30 NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY

The Party found that the cost of childcare has risen between two and a half and three times as fast as wages since the Conservatives came into office in 2010.

The Early Years Alliance undertook an analysis of data that found that there are nearly 19,000 childcare providers in England at risk of closing in the next year.

Some of the country’s most deprived areas are at high risk of their local nurseries closing.

Many working parents in one of Walsall’s most deprived communities could be forced into unemployment if the council closes it’s last remaining nursery, Stanley’s nursery in Birchills.

The nursery is the last local authority- run nursery in the borough, however the Conservative Government has deemed it a nonessential service. In July it was decided that the nursery would close with children being moved to alternative providers across the town.

However, the decision has been called in by Labour and Liberal Democrat members who said that the decision had been made without taking into account the consequences of Covid-19 on the early years sector.

Hard hit areas

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These are the children that are most in need of quality care. A place where they can grow and learn, but also have access to more activities and nutritional meals that they miss out on in their area.

Currently there is a never-ending cycle of lack of value and lack of funding that all leads to more closures and retainment challenges.

The new Social Mobility Commissions report on the early years workforce found that childcare practitioners are 'underpaid, overworked and undervalued'.

Neil Leitch, chief exec of the Early Years Alliance commented: ‘Years of inadequate government investment into the early years has resulted in unacceptably low salaries across the sector, with many practitioners regularly working long hours for little or no additional pay. Is it any surprise, then, that more and more are opting to leave and seek employment opportunities elsewhere?

‘With the huge challenges that the coronavirus pandemic has created for the childcare sector, it's clear that much more government support is needed if providers are going to be able to not just stay afloat, but to continue to recruit and retain quality early years professionals who can deliver quality early years provision as well.’ ■

Announcing our new date!

We have been continuously monitoring the ever-changing circumstances surrounding Covid-19, and are focused on keeping our NMT community safe during this time. The pandemic has had an effect on everyone’s lives and has brought many challenges and achievements to the childcare sector, and so it is incredibly important that the hard work and dedication of the Scottish nursery sector is celebrated.

With this in mind, we have taken the decision to postpone the 7th Scottish Nursery Awards, originally scheduled for the 4th September 2020, to Friday 19th March 2021 at the Hilton Glasgow.

We are also reopening the entry process for the awards, with a new entry deadline of Friday 4th December 2020, to allow additional time for you to get your entries in.

We look forward to celebrating the achievements of the sector in March!

MAIN SPONSOR

CATEGORIES: ■ NURSERY TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT AWARD ■ INDIVIDUAL NURSERY AWARD ■ NURSERY INDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AWARD

Exciting news – the Scottish NMT Nursery Awards are returning and we are thrilled to be supporting this fantastic event as Main Sponsor!

Morton Michel is known as the UK’s leading childcare insurance specialist. For over 25 years we have provided specialist cover for nurseries and are proud to protect the assets and interests of almost 4,000 nurseries nationwide.

Our nursery insurance package includes a range of additional benefits such as FREE Early Years training from award-winning flick learning, access to our FREE Early Years Advisory Service provided by Croner-i, a FREE counselling helpline and lots of discounts for you, your staff and your business as part of our exclusive ChildCare Club!

We are really excited to be celebrating excellence in the Scottish early years sector this September and look forward to meeting many of you soon!

Sue Lee Managing Director

■ NURSERY TEAM AWARD ■ FOREST OR BEACH SCHOOL / KINDERGARTEN AWARD ■ NURSERY MANAGER AWARD ■ NURSERY AREA MANAGER / OPERATIONS MANAGER AWARD ■ NURSERY OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AWARD ■ NURSERY NURSE / CHILDCARE WORKER AWARD ■ NURSERY ROOM LEADER AWARD ■ NURSERY GROUP AWARD ■ NURSERY PERSONALITY OF YEAR AWARD

The 7th Scottish NMT Nursery Awards will be held on Friday 19th March 2021 at the Hilton Glasgow, Scotland To enter, complete the online Entry Form at:

www.nmt-magazine.co.uk/scottishawards or email: events@investorpublishing.co.uk @NurseryManagementToday

@NMTMagazine

#ScottishNMTAwards CATEGORY SPONSORS

For sponsorship opportunities please contact Caroline Bowern; caroline.bowern@investorpublishing.co.uk

CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES: FRIDAY 4TH DECEMBER 2020 JUDGING DAY WILL BE HELD DURING FEBRUARY 2021

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nmtviewpoint

Keeping the silver lining Moving out of lockdown has meant that many settings can now adapt their own operations to fit the needs of this new environment.

Zoë Raven, chief executive of Acorn Childcare details her experience. hen the restrictions of the bubbles were lifted, it was a huge relief financially, but then our immediate reaction was to wonder how we could relax the bubbles and still retain some of the benefits that we’d discovered over the last three to four months. We are in the process of collating survey responses from both staff and parents, and a common theme in all of them has been the overwhelmingly positive observations about the impact on children of being in small bubbles, and, more surprisingly, the advantages of dropping off at the nursery door instead of parents coming inside.

The benefits of working in smaller groups with very consistent staffing were not really surprising, but as well as staff commenting on how much they enjoyed having more personalised, quality time with their key children, parents too noted the increase in confidence of some of the quieter children, and how calm and happy everyone was. Having less resources available at a time made for less clutter, easier cleaning, and more creativity. Cleaning and handwashing became ‘second nature’ for everyone, and we noticed that we’d had no tummy bugs doing the rounds! Practitioners who

W

36 NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY

transferred to another nursery when we paired our nurseries up (we managed to keep half of them open throughout lockdown) were initially apprehensive, but then thoroughly enjoyed the experience, returning to their own nurseries with fresh ideas, and although we provided as much remote support as possible, managers also found that the increased autonomy in the lockdown period boosted their own levels of confidence. The creativity in the posts and videos that were sent to families at home was stunning, and the warmth in the tone of communications, both internally and between nurseries and families, was deeply rewarding, and kept everyone’s spirits up.

Some of the benefits were completely unexpected. Initially, we were very concerned about asking parents to say goodbye to their children at the door, which felt like we’d turned the clock back about thirty years. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that the new separation rituals were in fact less stressful for most children and their parents, and a majority of both staff and parents commented on how much quicker and easier it was. Most are now keen to continue with that option, even after it’s no longer required, although everyone agreed

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that we miss having parents and carers in the nursery for the handover at the end of the day, so we’re looking forward to the time when that can be reinstated.

Some aspects of our practice, like spending lots of time outdoors, were endorsed by the Covid-19 recommendations, but the challenge of mixed age bubbles was a new one for most (not all) of our nurseries, and survey responses suggest that they won’t be continued after the summer, although some siblings undoubtedly benefitted from being together. The experience of being in consistent bubbles was also very beneficial for some of our children with additional needs, but was very difficult for others, particularly if they were unable to understand why they couldn’t have their normal freedom of movement around the rooms, or engage closely with every adult. We’ve missed a lot too, including our staff conference and summer social event, and having parents in for stay-and-plays. We certainly won’t miss the anxiety that arises from every raised temperature and cough, when that finally subsides! The challenge now is to start enjoying the easing of restrictions, while keeping as many benefits as we can from the experience of the last few months.

So what do we want to keep?

The intimacy, calm and quiet of key person groups. ● The habits of cleanliness and no clutter. ● The creativity that was unleashed by the limiting of resources! ● The camaraderie and warmth of mutual support, between staff teams and with our nursery families, and the appreciation for early years practitioners (by our nursery parents, at least, if not by the government!). ●

I’m sure that none of us will ever take our jobs for granted, if we ever did, and the pleasures of playing with groups of children outdoors, after the restrictions of lockdown, make the world seem a kinder, happier place, and remind us of the critical role of nurseries for children, their families, and the early years workforce. ■

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nmtsoapbox

How to manage health testing in your nursery Once the data is no longer needed it needs to be destroyed and the process documented ● Using tests that are not approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) ● Interpreting results to one’s own purposes ● Using a system where security of data cannot be guaranteed (e.g.

Excel)

All customer-facing businesses, including nurseries, are encountering challenges at the moment when it comes to adapting to Covid-19. Marta Kalas, co-founder of Thomson Screening speaks to Briony Richter about managing health testing across early years settings. he nursery needs to re-open but staff, parents and children need to be protected. You probably already have a good supply of PPE, plus information about how to control infection and clean areas.

However, how will you know when your risks increase and you need to take different steps? This where regular and methodical testing can help.

It is important to understand that testing can only help if it is effective, and that means being part of a concerted effort with a systematic plan.

So, what practical steps can you take to manage testing in your nursery?

First of all, the best advice is still to ask staff to monitor symptoms and be aware of what additional risks each staff member may be exposed to. For example, are they living in a communal environment like a house-share, are they part of a large family with most members working and using public transport, do they use public transport themselves to come to work? All of these will increase their risk. This doesn’t

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●

In addition, there are number of questions you need to ask when creating a testing programme:

The important questions

mean they shouldn’t come to work – it’s simply something to be aware of.

There are a number of issues to consider when setting up a testing programme and you need to be very careful about some of the hidden implications. It is not simply a medical question, the personal privacy aspects are just as important.

When designing a testing programme ensure it is:

Planned and documented.

Systematic. ● Actionable: you need to know what specific action you will take if certain results are found. ● Follows Public Health England (PHE) guidelines and if possible is carried out under clinical supervision.

The programme must also avoid these pitfalls: ● ●

Improvising/introducing the latest test available without considering the implications ● Testing must not lead to discrimination or the perception of discrimination ●

September / October 2020

What type of information will you be collecting and what action will you follow if you found it? ● What other information will you need to record in order to give context to the testing? For example, this could be linked to risk factors like ethnicity or sharing a household with a person who is at higher risk. ●

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Example questions, with possible answers, might be:

●

Why are you in isolation or being tested? a) I have symptoms (go to symptoms checker).

‘There are a number of issues to consider when setting up a testing programme and you need to be very careful about some of the hidden implications.’

nmtsoapbox

b) I have tested positive but have no symptoms. c) Someone else in my household has symptoms. d) Some in my household tested positive but has no symptoms. ● If you have symptoms, did they start: a) Less than 7 days ago. b) Between 7 and 14 days ago. ● What type of test needs to be carried out in relation to any symptoms? Will tests need to be repeated and, if so, at what intervals? ● How will you manage repeated testing? How long is the information valid?

The timing of these questions and answers as well as the related test result is really important; each test is only effective for a very precise period. Test at the wrong time, and the results will lose their meaning.

However, the combination of the test result in relation to timing of the symptoms is really meaningful.

Thomson Covid-19 Test Manager is a new software platform that manages the testing process, irrespective of where, how and what test is carried out. By using a dedicated testing platform to manage the process, it will be much easier to track the results and ensure that everyone who needs to be tested is tested.

There are also some common myths that need to be busted.

Don’t wait for test results to decide whether you should self-isolate; you should self-isolate as soon as you have symptoms. ● Previous infections do not always produce anti-bodies. For example, the entire Hungarian national swimming team testing positive for the virus. Later they offered their plasma to help others in recovery.

However, to everybody’s surprise, none of them produced any antibodies. ● According to the WHO, the so called ‘Immunity Passports’ should not be encouraged; we simply do not know how long immunity lasts and it can create a false sense of security. ●

There is some evidence that people with a BAME background may be at

higher risk. This may mean that they need to be treated differently, however it is essential that you avoid any form of discrimination. My advice is to be open and transparent about why and how you want to manage the testing, and, if necessary, get some advice/training about sensitive communication with employees at risk.

You will also need to talk to parents about a) testing their children; b) the reporting procedure if a child or member of staff is found to have Covid-19; and c) what actions will be taken if a test is positive. All these elements need to be considered and decided in advance of the testing programme commencing.

Finally, make sure that your testing programme does not conflict with UK employment law. This is a grey area at the moment since as an employer you have a duty of care, but how would you carry out that duty without good information?

Again, specific advice, both on the legal and clinical aspects of a testing programme as well as clear and transparent action plans are the best way forward. ■

● Marta Kalas is co-founder of Thomson Screening, developers of the Thomson Covid-19 Test Manager software platform that enables testing providers to scale irrespective of where, how and what test is carried out.

Thomson Covid-19 Test Manager is designed to adapt rapidly to fast changing requirements and is fully scalable.

W: https://workscreener.com/covid-19-test-manager Twitter: https://twitter.com/SchoolScreener Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Schoolscreener LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thomsonscreening

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NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY 39

nmtspecial report

Early learning experiences and purposeful play with Edx Education Heather Welch, international brand manager at Edx Education explains the importance of early years development and play based learning. t Edx Education we strive to build early learning experiences, adhering to curriculum requirements and supporting children’s key development areas, all through working with educational experts around the world. It’s upon these pillars that our values are built.

Launched 25 years ago by our CEO & founder, Murray Jackson, to supply world-class products, Edx Education soon pivoted to designing and manufacturing high-quality educational products in response to the on-going demand for more innovative products by schools, teachers, parents and caregivers.

Murray Jackson explains, “Edx Education is passionate about learning through play, which has long been recognised as a highly successful method of learning in early years education both in the classroom and at home.”

To this end, the design team has been creating educational products for the key learning areas (see Diagram 1) for children’s needs at different stages of their development from 18 months and above.

The range features products and games which support each area from early childhood through to primary school, including key Edx Education areas of focus, such as Mathematics

A

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Manipulatives and Early Childhood Active Play.

In the UK curriculum, Early Years Foundation Stage (EFYS) looks at teaching through games and play based learning. Children minds are curious, they need to explore and experiment through play – especially in the early years – and this is something which should be actively encouraged by teachers and caregivers. Open-ended toys are a versatile option and allow a child to grow with the product and can help promote a child’s development. It is equally as important for a nursery to provide children with activities that can be utilised for multiple age groups and levels of learning experiences.

There is no need for an abundance of products to help our children’s brains develop. Outlined below, are just six essential outdoor and indoor Edx Education products which provide the basic platform for purposeful play and cover the key learning areas for children in a nursey setting: Active play allows children to play independently or part of a group.

Children love to be active whilst learning to balance, jump, skip, hop and

Outdoor play

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Diagram 1: Key learning areas

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Diagram 2: Sand and water trays enable learning without realising; this is key to develop maths abilities in the early years.

play. They develop gross motor skills and coordination at different rates so it’s great to have an allocated area outdoors for children to explore in an unstructured way.

1. Edx Education Sand and Water Play Trays This Summer, there are three essential outdoor Edx Education products, which both enable and encourage children to explore and experiment: There are many aspects of learning through water and sand play, including the development of fine motor skills – as they pour from one container to another – and early maths skills.

International education expert and consultant for Edx Education, Dr Paul Swan, refers to the development of these skills through water play and how learning without realising is key to the development of early maths skills in his book ‘Early Years Experiences’: As children pour from one container to another, they will be developing fine motor skills.

Consider how difficult it is to fill a container to a specific level? With the trays, water activities can include: Measuring, emptying, pouring and filling up to a level. ● Using sieves, syphons and hoses. ●

nmtspecial report Floating and sinking.

Washing dishes, clothes, babies, dolls. ● Sing songs like ‘rain rain go away’ and children may leave a tray out in the rain to see how full it get. ● ●

The sand pit (outside) or sand tray (inside) provide children with many similar experiences to the Water Tray.

2. Edx Education Step-A-Forest The Step-A-Forest is extremely versatile as it enables both group and individual learning through play. It allows children to create their own activities, while using their imagination, planning and problemsolving skills to design an obstacle course by laying out hoops, barriers, mats, and paths to follow.

Diagram 3: Step-A-Forest enables learning through play both individually and in groups.

Gross motor skills are also honed as they navigate their way through the obstacle course, climbing over and crawling under, walking between objects, rolling across a blanket and jumping through a hoop to the Step-A-Forest.

3. Edx Education Joey Jump Developing hand-eye coordination through active play, the Joey Jump can teach children the invaluable skills of balance, catching and sharing while encouraging physical activity.

Whether they use it indoors or out, children will enjoy practicing this stimulating activity again and again.

The Joey Jump requires the active use of arms and legs, which improves muscle strength and children will develop agility as they launch and catch! A great solitary or group activity to build hand-eye coordination.

Diagram 4: Joey Jump helps children with their active play, on its own and with other toys.

Edx Education’s three essential indoor toys involve skills like balancing and laying one object on top of another, developing fine motor skills, curiosity, speech and language, cognitive development and creative design.

Indoor play

4. Edx Education Rainbow Pebbles® A flexible and open-ended toy, Rainbow Pebbles® can develop a child’s depth of knowledge through creative play.

Diagram 5: Rainbow Pebbles®, a flexible and open-ended toy that can develop a child’s depth of knowledge through creative play.

Ideal for developing fine motor skills, which are essential for learning to write, Rainbow Pebbles® also encourage a child’s counting, sorting and creative abilities.

Suitable for ages 18 months and above, the pebbles can be stacked, arranged by colour and used to make fun designs, among other activities.

As children select colours and shapes, and decide how many pieces they need, they cultivate their foundation skills in design thinking, problem solving and critical assessment.

5. Edx Education Junior GeoStix® Children love to imagine, build and get creative, and the Junior Geostix and activity cards will kick-start hours of open-ended play.

Diagram 6: Junior GeoStix® and their activity cards which kick-start hours of open-ended play.

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This range is inspired by the various construction materials found in the back corner of most classrooms, including bricks, sticks, cubes, cardboard boxes, foam trays and cardboard tubes.

As children push GeoStix® together and pull them apart or balance blocks on top of one another they will be developing their fine and gross motor skills, while also expanding their creative thinking and problem-solving abilities.

6. Edx Education FunPlay Attribute Beads One of our favourite openended toys, FunPlay Attribute Beads help children to develop fine motor skills while threading beads onto strings and laces, or stitching string through holes.

Often children make macaroni necklaces that involve threading pasta onto string and then tying the ends together – this is an activity that can be mimicked with the FunPlay Attribute beads. Threading beads will produce linear patterns that can help encourage language and categorising skills by describing the patterns according to object name, colour or a combination of both. ■ Diagram 7: FunPlay Attribute Beads are a classic openended toy, from pattern creation to detailed jewellery production.

● Edx Education continues to work with teachers, education experts and distributors to focus on fostering – and enhancing – learning at home with openended play with quality toys and kits. All the Edx Education products mentioned in this article are available for children to complement their development and learning around the globe.

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W: www.edxeducation.com

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nmtmanagement

Growing your nursery

post Covid-19 Now that nurseries have re-opened under the lockdown relaxation, it’s time to focus on strategies to grow your nursery business under the ‘new normal’, says specialist business growth consultant Shaz Nawaz opefully you’ve taken advantage of the various Government measures, such as loans, grants and the support schemes for employee and the selfemployed but these are coming to an end soon and it’s vital that the economy starts to regenerate. The availability of good, safe early years provision will be a big factor in a world where it is necessary for all the adults to be wage-earners. So how can you ensure that your nursery is part of this?

The key word is ‘management’.

Now, more than ever, it’s necessary to pro-actively drive forward your nursery to increase your slice of the sector. There are three main areas of focus:

H

Cash flow management.

Ratio management. ● Management of your relationship with parents. ● ●

Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of each

The basic rules haven’t changed, but they have become more important!

It’s very easy to look at your budgets and actuals for a month or a

Cashflow Management

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quarter, and congratulate yourself on hitting your targets, whether this is for increasing income or driving down costs. That’s only half the story. Tracking your cashflow can make the difference between solvency and the reverse.

That’s why ‘debtor days’ are such an important statistic in any dynamic business measurement plan. Let’s say that you allow the parents a period of time in which to pay the fees, or, worse still, you let them run up a debt by paying late, typically never quite bringing their account up to date. It’s tempting to assume that, as long as they pay eventually, it doesn’t matter. But every month, maybe every week, you are having to make payments which you can’t delay, such as staff salaries, supplies, PAYE income tax.

Have you ever sat down and worked out what each day late payment of say £100 costs you?

If your monthly outgoings are £18,000, and your anticipated income from fees is £20,000 per month, then if the total fee income comes in you have a notional £2,000 pre-tax profit that month. A 10% drop in actual income means you break even that month (but without anything ‘in the kitty’ for non-

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regular expenses) and a 15% drop means you are £1,000 short. Now you may have cash reserves to make up that difference, but if you have to dip into an overdraft facility costing say 25% APR, then every day that the £1,000 is not paid to you will cost you 70p. It doesn’t sound much, but once people get into the habit of late payment, then somehow the situation never catches up, so a consistent debtor level of £3,000 would cost you £500 per year - and worse still you are not building up a cash contingency fund.

So the nearer the debtor days figure is to zero the better. The moral of good cashflow management is to get what’s owed to you in as early as possible and defer payments out as long as possible (although I don’t advocate taking this last point to such extremes that you alienate your suppliers).

Negotiating competitive rates and terms for payment (which could include discounts for early payment) makes good commercial sense, as long as you keep a similar grip on your income to ensure the books balance.

Although the cost in human resources of delivering your product is part of the equation for every business, a nursery has a particular challenge in maintaining the required child supervision ratio.

There are two aspects to a successful strategy:

Ration Management

Knowing the actual cost to the nursery per child (categorised by age, frequency of attendance and duration of session). ● Maintaining a staff bank which can manage the children attending in the most economically efficient manner (including cover for staff holidays and sickness absence). ●

nmtmanagement ‘Now, more than ever, it’s necessary to pro-actively drive forward your nursery to increase your slice of the sector’ The first one is simply a mathematical exercise. The younger the child the higher the ratio of staff members to child numbers, but that’s the easy bit. You also have to factor in whether the facilities for particular age-groups will be used full-time, or whether some days there are sessions which have not been filled.

The outcome could be that, even if you have room for more children, adding a single child in a particular age-group for say three sessions a week may alter the ratio requirements. The cost of meeting these could be uneconomic.

The second point is really a matter of recruiting the right number of people with the right qualifications, experience and availability.

Managing your relationship with parents

I’ve already touched on the issue of prompt payment of fees. The easiest way to avoid late payment is to insist on payment in advance and deny access to any child whose account isn’t up-to-date. However, there are more subtle ways of encouraging prompt payment and one is offering discounts for advance of bulk payments e.g. a term or three months in advance.

Developing a good relationship with parents means working with the socio-demographic of the area in which your nursery is based. That way you can access trends like the typical income and working patterns of the parents, as well as an insight into their concerns. For example, if your nursery is in an area where mothers tend to be at home during the day, then they may be more likely to keep their children away from nursery attendance because of fears over

Covid-19. On the other-hand a family where the parents’ period of furlough is coming to an end may have little choice but to return the children to the nursery despite their concerns.

Covid-19 restrictions (socialdistancing and the creation of ‘bubbles’) are likely to reduce the overall amount of places available, but on the other hand parental concerns may have an impact on the uptake.

Leaving aside the practicalities of the control measures you’ll be taking, the key to managing the relationship with parents is to accept that their concerns, however ill-founded, are very real to them.

Time taken in explaining the safety measures in place will seldom be wasted. I’d also recommend that

you extend some flexibility in the arrangements for attendance. Noone likes to feel that it’s one size fits all.

The first two of these three aspects should enable you to ensure that your nursery is as economically viable as it can be, and this will leave you free to devote time to your relationship with parents.

Whilst it’s natural for parents to want to keep their children away from danger, I feel that the benefits of early years education cannot be overstated. Your job is to balance the two, so that you can provide a safe, healthy and beneficial environment. Convince parents of this and they will see you as the nursery of choice. ■

Summary

● Shaz Nawaz is a specialist business growth consultant who operates bespoke accountancy and tax practice, aa Chartered Accountants, in Peterborough. Shaz advises on a wide range of business and tax issues and regularly writes for the professional press. You can follow him on social media, read his books and listen to his podcast, Wealth Made Simple.

T: 01733 555 667 E: shaz@aa-accountants.co.uk W: www.aa-accountants.co.uk

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nmthot topics

The sectors survival is in the government’s hands ‘One of the hardest parts of my job as chief executive of the Early Years Alliance is when providers get in touch with me to let me know that they have taken the incredibly difficult decision to close their doors.’

Neil Leitch speaks about the sectors struggles to survive.

n the many years that I have been with the Alliance, I have sadly received many such calls and emails, often from providers who have been delivering quality care and education to their local communities for several years or, in some cases, decades – and it never fails to have a profound impact on me.

Every time a provider closes means dedicated practitioners losing their jobs, parents losing vital support, and children losing access to quality care and education. The situation was bad enough before coronavirus hit, with 500 providers on average closing every month – but now with the joint impact of historic underfunding and the impact of the pandemic, the situation is even more dire: research undertaken by the Alliance shows that one in four childcare providers fears closure within the year, rising to one in three in the most disadvantaged areas. So why is it that the government continues to drag its feet on addressing this urgent issue?

The economic argument is clear: if the wider economy is to recover from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, having accessible and highquality childcare is fundamental to ensuring that parents can continue to go to work. The government’s unwillingness to provide emergency funding to ensure the childcare sector makes it through this difficult period

I

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seem to fly in the face of all their rhetoric on economic recovery and the need to protect jobs and livelihoods.

And then, of course, there is the fact that early years education has been proven to be critical to children’s long-term learning and development – and there is plenty of research, including that of Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman, demonstrating the benefits of investment into early years to society as a whole.

You would think, therefore, that when it came to deciding where to prioritise its spending, our sector would be at the very top of the government’s list - yet, so far the opposite has been the case.

We have heard about billions being invested into schools, whether to support infrastructure projects or help children ‘catch-up’ from the impact of missed education during lockdown; we have seen scheme after scheme launched to protect retail, hospital and leisure businesses from the impact of the pandemic; and more recently, we have seen a huge investment into the arts sector to safeguard it from collapse. And yet, when it comes to the early years, the government insists that the support given so far is more than enough, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

And yet, there are small signs of a shift. Responding to a recent Parliamentary Question on early years funding, the children and families minister said that future

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funding for the sector would be “a matter for the next spending review” taking place in the autumn. Speaking during a BBC Politics Live report on the challenges facing the childcare sector, Conservative MP Anthony Browne indicated that the government was keeping support for the sector “under review going forward”, and in the debate that followed his summer economic update in the House of Commons, Chancellor Rishi Sunak committed to meeting with Conservative MP Steve Brine to discuss the issues facing the early years.

With the government’s Budget and Spending Review taking place in just a few months, now is a critical time to drive home just what a vital part of the national infrastructure our sector is. We at the Alliance are working tirelessly to raise the profile of the early years on a national scale through the media, and behind the scenes in our work with MPs, peers and other campaigners and organisations.

We have often argued that the early years is the forgotten sector: it’s up to us to change this and that’s exactly what we at the Alliance intend to do. ■ ● Neil Leitch is chief executive at the Early Years Alliance.

T: 020 7697 2500 W: eyalliance.org.uk Connect with Neil on LinkedIn

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nmtgreat outdoors

Let nature be your compass e know that most children are intrinsically connected to, and enjoy engaging with, the outdoor world. Many nursery curriculums include having fun in nature, and it is widely documented that children resonate and learn more efficiently when they are happy and healthy. Yet somehow, these basic teachings that we pass on to our children are often neglected by ourselves as adults. We seem to forget our roots! Whilst ensuring that our young charges are given the opportunity to engage with nature, we don’t actively seek the same learning experiences as ‘professional leaders’ ourselves.

Well, I’m here to remind you that using nature as your own navigational toolkit – bringing you back to basics – can be a very powerful mechanism for leadership change whilst supporting a stronger version of yourself in the workplace.

No matter what age we are, nature can reconnect us to ourselves. The comfort of birdsong, a view of the vast sky and its changing canvas, the wind on our cheek can bring an element of peace. Of course, the main powerful ingredient is that it takes us into the present moment. It makes us savour the here and now instead of always striving for the goals of tomorrow. With a constant presence of nature outside our window we are connected to something bigger than ourselves, something timeless, endless, with mysteries out of our control. For once mankind does not have all the answers. So, for once can we let the universe take over as we relax into the outcom.

W

Leaders in the education sector, particularly those who are empowered to enhance the knowledge of young children, have a great amount to learn from nature. Rosie Tomkins founder of the Natural Capital Consultancy and author of ‘N-stinctive’ explains the benefits of the outdoors.

Navigational tools we can learn from nature (The Five C’s)

The Five Cs

CONSTANCY – Let nature anchor you in the eye of uncertainly as we transition out of Covid-19 lockdown.

Stay steady – trust – we don’t have all the answers, but we as a species will overcome and flourish into a new ecosystem. Consider that penguins throughout the Antarctic are forced into a situation of lockdown for their survival – every year! Their natural cycle is to maximise energy intake in the easier times, foreseeing the challenging months ahead with a well-designed plan for survival. Let’s not forget as well, that penguins survive their harsh winters by huddling together in unity and support. Those animals on the outside who brunt the biting winds are quickly rotated back into the middle of the pack to make sure that no individual alone has to bear all of the burden. They endure, they survive, they thrive. A lesson we could all learn through these hard times – they don’t last forever and together we can brunt the worst of it for the benefit of all.

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CONSISTENCY – We’ve all heard the analogy of the ‘tortoise and the hare’.

Take one step at a time, be surefooted, do not race to fake conclusions based on false

2

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information - about your work, relationships, or the future. Instead, have trust in the path that you are on and that you will reach your goal, no matter how long it takes.

CONGRUENCY – Nature has the incredible ability to keep itself in balance, adapting to new conditions in the pursuit to thrive. Think of the ‘urban fox’, that is, a regular fox that has learned to thrive in a city environment. Naturally speaking, these animals are better suited to the countryside, yet they have learned to balance ‘need and survival’ to make the most of living outside of their chosen comfort zone. Mankind can learn from this by seeking alignment, unity, and harmony with world around us. Whether that’s keeping our business afloat, or connecting with family, or even learning to live with the constraints of lockdown. If we seek to parallel ourselves with the world and situations around us, then we will inevitably thrive in that environment, no matter how ‘unnatural’ it may feel.

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COURAGE – The hatchling that flings itself off a mountaintop with the hope that it will fly. This tacit knowledge is passed down through the generations. The young bird doesn’t need to be told it can fly, or taught how to fly, it just has the courage to leap with inherent confidence that everything will be ok.

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nmtgreat outdoors Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could learn from nature in this way, and have the courage to trust our natural instincts more often, instead of always seeking external validation?

COLLABORATION – That is to say, collaboration over competition. There is of course a great amount of competition in nature, whether it be for food, security or a mate. Yet nature’s ability to collaborate, even between species that would naturally be at odds with one another, is one of its greatest assets. Imagine the classic mutualistic relationship we’ve inevitably seen in a David Attenborough documentary of a plover eating leftover food scraps from inside the mouth of a crocodile.

The competitive food chain dictates that the crocodile should eat the bird at the expense of any other benefit, yet it doesn’t, as the plover cleans the crocodile’s teeth to reduce the chance of infection – natural oral hygiene! In the human world, we should also consider the benefits of collaboration for mutual benefit, particularly through the current global economic downturn, when we are all seeking the same goals. Collaboration over competition – that’s the solution.

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Now that nurseries are reopening and children are given the opportunity to reengage with one another, why not take a few moments of reflection for yourself – as a leader – to balance and recalibrate.

Connect in your kitchen – Simply add some potted plants to the windowsill. There’s something very rewarding about planting seeds and seeing new life grow, taking responsibility for cultivating something organic and beautiful.

Science tells us that plants ‘bring happiness’ to a room. Choose some pretty pots and get growing.

A new opportunity

Connect in your garden – There’s a lot of joy to be taken from simply

noticing birds. Their unique calls, their vibrant colours, the innocence of their existence. We all hear birds, all the time, but we very rarely take a moment to fully appreciate the beauty of their song. Take a moment to stop, close your eyes, and listen.

Connect in your local area – Walk in the park and count the different types of animals you see, trot up the highest hill in your neighbourhood and take in the vastness of the sky, stroll through the woods and smell the under-forest. There’s an incredibly emotive experience to the feeling that you’re a small part of something bigger.

Connect with adventure – Swim in your local ‘open water lake’. Embrace the brisk water, and the rewarding feeling of being physically connected to nature. The cold water soon feels warmer, enjoyable, invigorating.

Connect with your reading – Find an engaging book that describes and visualises nature. “Rewilding Yourself” by Simon Barnes is particularly good.

Connect with a documentary – Who doesn’t enjoy a David Attenborough documentary? In the ‘doom and gloom’ of many social media campaigns these days, and in the face of lockdown restrictions, these documentaries are a fantastic way to remind ourselves that there is a world of beauty out there.

Connect digitally – Add a beautifully scenic screensaver to your computer, or change your ‘Zoom’ background to something aesthetically natural.

Sometimes these small changes to our regular working lives can reignite our enjoyment of the outside world.

Connect with natural phenomena – Watch a sunrise or sunset, either on your own, or with the other members of your household. The ‘dawn of the

day’ and the ‘end of the day’ are perfect times to reflect on the beauty of nature.

Connect with philanthropy – Subscribe to an intuitive, reputable and beautiful wildlife magazine. I find the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation to be exceptionally good.

Connect with fun – Support your sanctuary or wildlife reserve. When COVID restrictions are lifted, go spend the day with your family, surrounded by the world’s most beloved creatures. And, for an extra sense of connectivity, ‘Adopt an Animal’ to harness support of the natural world.

What does this all mean? Why do we need to stay connected to nature?

Nature has an incredible ability to restore the human spirit. If we ignore it and continue to believe that manmade solutions will supplement our connection to the wildlife, we are deluded.

“We are not in nature, we are nature.”

Nature connects us to the present moment. It makes us savour the here and now, instead of always striving for the goals of tomorrow. With the constant presence of nature outside our window we feel connected to something bigger than ourselves, something timeless, endless, out of our control.

As the teachers of a new generation, it is important for all of us to walk the talk and literally lead the way into a new world. ■

● Rosie Tomkins is founder of the Natural Capital Consultancy and author of ‘N-stinctive’, an inspirational book that introduces an alternative to traditional leadership training by unlocking the power of the natural world to provide strength and confidence to people who are shouldering huge responsibility. Rosie’s clients include the GB Olympic hockey and England rugby teams, the NHS and multi-national companies in the airline, engineering and pharmaceutical industries.

W: www.n-stinctive.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/nstinctiveintelligence Twitter: https://twitter.com/n_stinctive YouTube:www.youtube.com/channel/UCgCuRgTFuoWKk4BaHSlQirg

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NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY 47

nmtcatering

Creating a safe, efficient way to feed children and help improve their development The original idea and concept for our company was conceived many years ago but only came into fruition in a commercial sense in the last four years. Briony Richter speaks to Darryl Reardon, head of sales & marketing at The Professional Nursery Kitchen about their operations and how it can help improve a child’s development. ith the experience and help of watching his parents grow a successful Nursery company of 10 sites in Essex. It became obvious that the constant problem of finding and retaining good cooks for all these sites was becoming time consuming and problematic. Worse still, it was also mentioned in an OFSTED report but did not have an impact on the rating.

To further mitigate this type of risk and improve consistent great food across all settings, a plan was put in place to provide safe nutritious food for all children. Objectives were created from the beginning that were non-negotiable and had to be achieved for this idea to work in practice.

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Quality & safety were paramount for food production & delivery. ● Highest food standards to be achieved for all food production. ● Environmental & eco-friendly standards to be attained wherever possible. ● Reduce costs to nurseries. ●

With the above objectives in mind the search was on for a Central Production Unit (CPU), which was found in Basildon. A specialised design agency was appointed PHCC

Ltd who appointed Williams Refrigeration to help as we required 1,200 square feet of refrigerated space which would normally require 400 AMPS of mains power but we only had 100 AMPS so we changed to inverter drives and took our power from ecotricity who claim to be Britain’s greenest energy company, only using 100% renewable energy.

This enabled us to save money as a user but also save the amount of energy consumed considerably and an 80% reduction of emissions.

Recyclable packaging was also high on our list with recyclable trays made from recycled material is used to deliver our food in portion sizes of 10 or 4 to reduce the volume of disposal and further opportunity to recycle.

We also worked with our natural low sugar yogurt supplier to supply fully compostable containers made from Vegware is made from plants using renewable, lower carbon, recycled or reclaimed materials, and designed to be commercially compostable with food waste, where accepted. Compostables are a practical solution for single-use foodcontaminated disposables, allowing foodservice to achieve their sustainability goals and in our case reduce the amount of single serve

yogurt pots. (i.e. 700 grams instead of smaller single serve options).

Our focus on food standards is evidenced by our food production manager being a BRC auditor and our commitment to the sourcing of quality raw materials from meat, fish, vegetables & our fresh fruit, which is all cut in such a way to avoid choking hazards for small children.

This ethos also extends to our own branded delivery fleet of Vans that are all Euro 6 and come equipped with the ability to keep their chillers running whilst loading by being loaded at our site by charge points at every loading bay. We also like to think that the reduction by multi delivery saves on CO2 emissions with less vehicles on the road.

As a result of the improvements shown at their own sites it hasn’t taken long for other Nurseries to enquire and then benefit by using ourselves and we continue to grow and improve.

We have remained open throughout the Covid-19 crisis and maintained our high standards to ensure that our food was being delivered as normal to maintain children’s physical and mental wellbeing as they continued to look after their key workers children. ■

● For more information please feel free to contact us at www.theprofessionalnurserykitchen.co.uk References: www.phcclimited.co.uk www.ecotricity.co.uk www.vegware.com/uk www.brc.org.uk

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MAIN SPONSOR:

Virtual Awards We are thrilled to offer our support to the National NMT Nursery Awards 2020 as the main sponsor We understand how much effort it takes for nursery practitioners, leaders, managers and owners to achieve success within their settings, each and every day. The level of enthusiasm which goes into building and maintaining innovative, creative spaces for children to thrive in, is highly recognised by us. That’s why we believe The National NMT Nursery Awards provide a fantastic and relevant platform to celebrate all of the nurseries doing this.

As main sponsors, we don’t only give our full support to The National NMT Nursery Awards, but to the dedicated staff at each and every nursery setting around the UK, who do their very best to support the growth and development of the children in their care. We also hope that our collaboration with NMT will allow us to learn and grow as a business, with our customers remaining at the forefront of our minds.

Thank you to everyone who entered the 18th National NMT Nursery Awards. We at Nursery Management Today were inspired by the outstanding quality of entries.

We are delighted to announce that the Gala Evening and Awards ceremony will be held virtually on Thursday 26th November 2020.

We envisage a ceremony that will reward excellence in childcare, showcasing the exceptional people that work in the sector. We cannot wait to announce our amazing finalists, who will be contacted in September.

We hope you understand our decision to make this change. We have been continuously monitoring the ever-changing circumstances surrounding Covid-19, and are focused on keeping our finalists, judges, sponsors and supporters safe during this time. As an exciting virtual event, we look forward to continuing to build on the success of the National NMT Nursery Awards, celebrating all of you.

We extend a huge thank you to our Sponsors, without whom this celebration would not be possible.

nmt-magazine.co.uk/awards CATEGORY SPONSORS:

We anticipate a fantastic year working closely with NMT and look forward to celebrating successes in November at the awards.

Chris Mahady – Managing Director

@NurseryManagementToday

Follow us on Twitter

@NMTmagazine #NMTNurseryAwards

nmtfinancial advice

10 ways to help your nursery survive as we move out of lockdown Latest research by the Early Years Alliance found that just 45% of parents are planning to take up their child’s place.

The most common reason cited by parent was safety issues.

Jonathan Amponsah CTA FCCA, The Tax Guys explains some of the ways to support your nursery survive past lockdown. ith pubs, restaurants and hairdressers now being allowed to return to some normality and with September opening of schools for children in England, it is important that the childcare sector remains positive because the sector will be essential for the wider re-opening of the economy.

As we move out of lockdown and remain optimistic there are key areas to ensure your nursery not only survive but remain resilient and profitable in the new world.

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own 1 Your oxygen mask

There is no doubt that the current crisis will continue to affect our emotional and mental wellbeing.

And as we move out of lockdown, there would be different challenges ahead. It is vitally important to look after yourself first and keep your oxygen mask on and take care of your mental training because unless you look after yourself first, nothing else would happen. After all, if you survive your nursery and you’re healthy, you can re-start another business. The reverse is sadly not true. If you need additional resources, please have a look at Norman Cousins – ‘Anatomy of an illness’ and Viktor Frankl – ‘A man’s search for meaning’ 50 NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY

concerns – 2 Safety Re-assure parents

The novelty of home-schooling has worn off some parents. Others want to go back to work and get their sanity back. But most parents are concerned about safety. What is your documented Covid-19 secured and safety measures? How have you communicated these to parents and staff? How are you promoting this to parents? And how often are you communicating these to everyone?

Including prospective parents. Some leading nurseries have involved their marketing team this. Because unless create, implement and communicate your strategy in this area, your setting will struggle post lockdown. My advice is to tackle this as a project, give it a name (say ABC Nursery Covid-19 Secured Workplace), design something nice, package it, email or post it to parents, and keep communicating to all. This project should not only include hand sanitisers, face masks and the like but should go further to address concerns like what measures you have in place should something go wrong.

to business: 3 Back financial survival checklist Moving out of lockdown does not mean ignoring all the basic financial exercise that got your nursery

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through the lockdown. In fact, if you’re to survive the next phase, all the financial exercise you went through with your accountant must become a new norm.

So, keep reviewing where you can save money (tax, rent, staff, agreeing longer payments terms with suppliers etc.) and where you can make more money (new business ideas, speeding up customer payments etc.).

To save time, you can download the ‘Peace of mind financial action planner’ here: www.thetaxguys.co.uk/client-area

This contains a Financial Survival Checklist with 16 areas to keep reviewing on a regular basis with your accountant or financial controller.

furlough 4 Flexible scheme

Remember that from July through to October 2020, there is still help from the government in the form of flexible furlough scheme. Although you are expected to contribute towards the scheme, it is still a vital support to ensure you survive.

nmtfinancial advice and 8 Planning cashflow forecast

You may have deferred your taxes and other bills. Without proper planning, you may have a bigger financial problem in the coming months. Keep on top of the finances and either work closely with your accountant or use you can download an integrated cash flow forecast tool here: www.thetaxguys.co.uk/client-area

It’s called Time Saving Tool to project income-expense and cashflow.

twinkle, 9 Twinkle, little tax

Review the paperwork you had till June 2020 and make the necessary changes to continue to claim. Speak to your accountant and employment lawyers about this.

Remain resilient by 5 adapting your business model

During the crisis, you’ve managed to operate in some way remotely.

You may have been forced to adopt online processes and a digital way of working. Admin, planning and procedures take a long time in the childcare industry and they appear to be in the top 3 concerns for the childcare sector. Would you go back to the old process or cut cost to remain competitive? Are you using the latest technologies? It is a good idea to carry out a review of how you do things to find out if you can streamline your processes, saving time and money.

customers.

6 Create Look at future demands.

Baby boomers?

History tells us that there is normally a surge in new births post pandemic. Covid-19 should be no different and we should see an increase in the number of registered births in the coming months. Do you have a plan for the likely surge in demand for your services?

Just because we are moving out of lockdown does not mean you should ignore the following areas where your nursery can save some tax.

Beware of 7 cost-cutting

Some costs (marketing and innovation costs) should be increased as you move out of lockdown. If you are to create new customers, then cutting your marketing budget might not be a smart idea. As mentioned above, your “Covid-19 Secured Environment” should be viewed as both operational and marketing projects.

We have one client who ramped up their marketing at the start of lockdown (despite clients cancelling and the signs indicating that there were tough times ahead) and found that they almost doubled their business as a result plus they have a large number of warms leads for later in the year too. So, think carefully – is it time to ramp things up rather than cut back?

You can read more about cost cutting here: www.thetaxguys.co.uk/2020/04/24/ how-to-cut-costs-withoutcrippling-your-business

There is also a cost reduction exercise and savings tool (excel template) that you can use to save time and money here:

Loss Relief Claim (Generate a tax refund from last year if you’ve made a loss) ● Capital Allowance Claim (on areas within your building that you’ve not claimed) ● Reducing stamp duty land tax and capital gains tax if you are ● Rewarding your staff tax efficiently ● Selling or acquiring another nursery tax efficiently ●

10 Purpose

Mindsets have shifted during the pandemic. People are getting more and more attracted to brands that stand for something. If your business is to survive and remain resilient post lockdown, you will need to not just pay a lip service to your core values but to actually stand up and counted for a greater cause. ■ ● Jonathan Amponsah CTA FCCA FCCA is an award-winning chartered accountant and tax adviser who helps improve businesses. He is the founder and chief executive officer of The Tax Guys.

W: thetaxguys.co.uk

www.thetaxguys.co.uk/client-area www.nmt-magazine.co.uk

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nmtinsurance

Tick off those ugly frogs It’s been a strange and uncertain couple of months. Jackie Hyde, director of dot2dot speaks about getting through your checklist to save the headache. s days get longer, I don’t know about you but I feel like I have a little more time in the day and I am trying to use this time to tackle some of the older items on my to-do list.

In our office, we call these tasks ‘ugly frogs’. They are the jobs you know you need to do but just don’t have the inclination to do them. Mark Twain once said, "if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that is probably the worst thing that can happen to you all day."

I’m guessing at least one of your ugly frogs is a need to update or review key paperwork and not to add more frogs to your list, but here are the four frogs I think you need to take a look at.

Are all your rebuild figures correct?

If you are responsible for insuring the building, it is important that the sum insured reflects an adequate rebuild cost including demolition, clearance of the site, professional fees and VAT (many nurseries forget to add VAT to the rebuild figure, so it’s worth pulling yours out to check).

Please also be aware often business valuation reports are focused on market value and although they usually include a reinstatement cost, these are often not sufficiently

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detailed for insurance purposes and therefore cannot be relied upon. We, therefore, recommend that you have your properties valued by a chartered professional.

If you lease some of your properties it is worth re-acquainting yourself with the details of your lease. Who is responsible for insuring the building, you or your landlord? Do you know the details of these leases? Have you told your insurer about your responsibilities, don’t forget if you make any structural changes to rented buildings, you need to make sure your insurers know about these for your Tenants Improvement cover.

Check your leases

Have you updated your business structure document?

If you’ve been on the acquisition trail, you may have added some new settings. Has this affected your company structure and if it has, did you inform your insurance advisor. If you haven’t then there would be some serious repercussions if you try to make a claim. Don’t forget your Directors & Officers Liability insurance needs changing too.

During your spring clean, you may have come across a dusty folder titled

Business Continuity Plan

‘Business Continuity Plan’. If you have such a document, then it needs to be updated with changes to your organisation, and any new business threats should be reviewed at the very least annually.

The risks your business may face are changing all the time and unfortunately, Covid-19 has made all companies realise how important a Business Continuity Plan can be.

Double-check your continuity plan covers the following:

What might threaten your business? Think about potential cyber-attacks, terrorism and the everyday risks of fire and flood.

Also, consider more simple risk such as not having any water or the telephone being disconnected. ● What is important for your businesses’ survival? Do you need to have a communications plans ready so that you can contact parents as soon as you know there is a problem? ● What will you need to recover? Do you have access to your nurseries computer network remotely? ● What is most at risk in your business? ● What can you do to reduce risk?

Try and think outside the box and considering solutions to keep your business going. ● What information do you need to hand in an emergency? You’ll need a list of key phones numbers and a quick way to contact staff and parents. ● People in any organisation are critical and are often forgotten on these types of plans. What would you do if someone couldn’t return to work? Can someone else do their job? Will, there be a financial impact on the business and if there is can you arrange insurance to minimise this risk. ●

I understand these are not the most fun jobs, but by checking these ugly frogs off your to-do list now, you might save yourself a headache later. ■

● Jackie Hyde is director of insurance broker, dot2dot, which insures more than 1,800 nurseries nationwide (around 13 per cent of the UK’s nurseries). It was recognised as Schemes Broker of the Year at the prestigious Insurance Times Awards 2017.

T: 01204 570 390 E: Jackie@dot2dot.org.uk W: dot2dot.org.uk Connect with Jackie on LinkedIn

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nmtspecial feature ADVERTORIAL

Calling all independent nursery owners ave you spent lockdown worrying about how you will reopen or survive after these unprecedented times?

For independent nurseries or small nursery groups, surviving against the big and now 'super' chains feels like a constant battle, most of you have to wear every hat as owner / manager / bookkeeper / marketing manager / HR manager and more. Something has to give and quite often that is your marketing strategy as it can take time, effort and skill to master, but it is one of the most important things we should be working on.

Many people who own their own business think of marketing as just the adverts they put out but there is so much more to marketing that can have a huge impact on the success and growth of your business. Great marketing includes:

H

● the specific headlines you use in your

adverts - it can make or break an advert ● knowing what is a marketing opportunity - it's the details that count ● maximising your industry trends and tailoring your marketing towards them - to name just a few.

Former award winning nursery group owner, Angela J Spencer is launching a new programme that includes access to a Nursery Owners Membership platform that could revolutionise the marketing for nursery owners and support them through a substantial business growth strategy.

Marketing is our biggest business tool but many nursery owners don't have a business qualification let alone a marketing one, so many business growth opportunities are missed. You could of course pay for any Marketing

'angel on board'

Former multi-award winning nursery group owner launches new business growth mentoring programme for nursery owners – helping their nursery recover and survive after Covid-19 or Business Consultant that would bring their knowledge to the table and a big bill to pay also. BUT, what if that Consultant: ● has 25+ years of owning their own

nursery group

● is one of NMT Magazine's Top 10

Most Influential in Childcare in 2017

● has grown a business to a £2M

turnover with a consistent average occupancy of 80+% ● sold that nursery business as a multimillion pound company with a 12+multiplier ● won multiple business and entrepreneur awards ● has held Ofsted Outstanding consistently ● understands YOUR industry and its trends, pitfalls and opportunities ● can be your 'Angel' on your board to support not just your business survival but your business growth!

Angela opened her first nursery in 1993 at the age of just 21 years old. It was during these first years that Angela also had her own children and realised how difficult it was for working parents and acknowledging the time children spent in her care. In addition, Angela also realised the important of the children's sensory world both at home and at nursery for their wellbeing (emotionally and mentally) and in turn their natural development.

This led to extensive research and when she opened her second nursery

About Angela J Spencer

● For more information or interviews please use the following: E: angelonboard@angelajspencer.co.uk M: 07912 626118 T: 01787 478076 Babyopathy Ltd, The Oak Rooms, Oak Road, Halstead, Essex CO9 1LX W: www.angelajspencer.co.uk

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in 2000, she introduced the first part of her now Babyopathy programme, colour psychology. Over the years this grew to include music psychology, specific nutrition programme, crystals and biophilic influences (nature based influences) when her third nursery opened in 2004.

The flagship nursery of 114 children received Ofsted Outstanding continuously for its innovation and achievements in child development and wellbeing.

Angela's nursery group grew to achieve a turnover of just under £2M and an average occupancy of 80+% and was sold to a small nursery group in a multi-million pound deal achieving a multiplier of 12+.

Angela took some time to be with her new granddaughter but was devastated at the impact of COVID-19 on the industry that was her passion for most of her working life. So, she has put together a new Membership for nursery owners and joined the hugely respected marketing guru and former England Rugby star, Steve Hackney and his mentoring programme The Formula to give unrivalled marketing know-how and business growth opportunities to other nursery owners.

Angela's business mentoring service is 'Angel on Board' in recognition of her former nursery group Angels at Play.

Angel on Board is part of Babyopathy Ltd, Angela's pregnancy, birth and childcare programme & membership for both parents and nurseries to embrace the sensory wellbeng world of babies & children.

Nursery owners that join Angela's mentoring programme are also given access to the award winning Babyopathy programme for nurseries.* ■

September / October 2020

*T&Cs Apply

NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY 53

nmtspotlight Adapting to the new normal has encouraged a lot of change across the early years sector. Safety and maintaining the wellbeing of staff and children was a priority for Sally Bonnar, Co-op Childcare’s chief operating officer.

Big on supporting Co-op Childcare colleagues to feel safe s the country got to grips with the new normal, the safety of our colleagues and all of those who entered our nurseries became our number one priority. That’s why we made lots of little changes to make a big difference in the fight against Covid-19, changes in the way we care for our children, interact with parents and provide support to our teams.

It is always important to us to do the right thing for our colleagues which is why after dissecting all government guidance with a fine tooth comb we chose to take action above and beyond what was expected. We’re a business that lives by its values, values that mean we listen and take action proactively.

Throughout all the adversity of the past few months our nursery teams have remained committed to the happiness and well-being of all children, in turn we committed to do everything in our power to keep them safe.

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We raised our safety standards for the protection of our teams by: children understand why we made Financially supporting colleagues to travel to work safely by taxi to avoid public transport and providing face masks for colleagues to wear on public transport following the wider opening at the beginning of June. ● Providing face coverings as a consistent part of colleagues uniform to protect our families and friends. Some of our families were anxious about practitioners wearing face coverings and how children might adapt but we took it upon ourselves to help parents and ●

‘Throughout all the adversity of the past few months our nursery teams have remained committed to the happiness and well-being of all children, in turn we committed to do everything in our power to keep them safe.’

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that decision. We’re big on safety and want to do everything in our power to protect everyone in our care, both colleagues and children.

We knew children seeing their favourite practitioners wearing masks might be a bit strange so our teams worked up lots of innovative ways to make masks ‘un-scary’ - in fact all our colleagues are undercover superheroes…sssshhh, don’t tell everyone! ● Changing our core operating hours to accommodate a one shift way of working. ● 20% additional practitioners to ensure that frontline colleagues were able to take regular breaks, time off and prevent the need for overtime. ● Allocating surplus personnel to cover beginning and end of days and breaks to minimise mixing of adults between bubbles. Breaks are staggered to aid social distancing wherever possible between adult workers.

nmtspotlight Supplementary cleaning hours to fulfil extra cleaning duties. ● Like our little ones, only practitioners who are symptomfree going into work and taking the temperatures of all of our colleagues on arrival. ● Colleagues changing into clean uniforms daily and indoor shoes on arrival. ● Every frontline colleague, including new and returning colleagues in receipt of full safety training on infection control, hygiene, correct wearing and disposal of PPE and standard operating procedures – promoting the safest environments in nursery. ●

We listened and kept in touch with our teams by:

Encouraging colleagues to download our bespoke ‘Colleague Connect’ app which is their digital workplace companion now holding all of the latest coronavirus advice, FAQ’s, helpful telephone numbers and key information on how to keep themselves safe during the pandemic. The platform fosters internal dialogue, feedback and questions together with the sharing of stories and appreciation messages by way of celebrating their great work, heroic efforts to help keep morale high. ● Having consistent and two-way communication to help reduce anxieties, build trust and confidence in our learning and experiences. ● Holding live weekly vlogs to stay connected with all colleagues, even those staying safe at home. ● Listening and taking action through arranging for all of our colleagues council representatives to attend a virtual meeting to make sure we were answering all of their respective nursery teams questions, shared all of the latest information and received feedback on how safety measures were working in practice at local levels ●

Coordinating nursery wide wellbeing groups which have been really important during these challenging times. This involved taking part in some light-hearted engagement activities, taking time to thank each other and taking times for a cuppa, cake and chat with their managers. ● Enhancement of wellbeing surveys to help inform the business and shape future decisions – we wanted a broad range of views from as many colleagues as possible because openness are values we live by. ● Introducing ‘isolation conversations’ as we knew how disconnected and lonely some of our colleagues might be feeling especially those not working on the front line and stuck at home as the weeks pass by. This is a post it note style platform that invited individuals to post well wishes and talk to each other about coping with lockdown. ●

We said thank you to our teams by:

Giving 10% additional pay for frontline workers in recognition of the essential roles they were undertaking. ● Topping up furloughed colleagues to 100% for 3 months of lockdown. ● Offering any frontline colleagues that currently had children in one of our nurseries and enhanced discount on their childcare fees. ●

Enhancing colleague discount by way of a thank you with 20% discount off, in all of our Food Stores for 4 weeks. ● Free lunches across all nurseries. ● Supporting colleagues in need through Grocery Aid, available through a free, confidential helpline. ● Electronic Thank you cards and celebrations of achievements. ●

Being socially responsible is a big part of who we are at Coop and we know that it takes special people to look after children. Our special people, our very own superheroes, our outstanding early years professionals have certainly stepped up in these challenging times, they have kept everyone healthy, happy and safe – making a big difference to our communities. ■

● W: https://www.littlepioneers.coop

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nmtproperty

Assisting buyers and sellers through unprecedented times

by Nick Brown, Head of Brokerage Childcare UK ver the last few months at Christie & Co, our specialist childcare team has been focussed on helping, advising and supporting childcare operators across the country. Whilst we are well known for brokering transactions large and small, this has been a time when transactions, whilst still very important, have become secondary to assisting the sector and helping operators get through these unprecedented times.

We have found nursery operators to be hungry for real time information, including how other operators were coping, what systems they were putting in place, what and how were they dealing with fees, and how were they

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retaining parents and children if they had been obliged to shut.

As information was, and still is, moving at a fast pace, we set up a website page to help providers access the most up-to-date information, with my colleagues and me acting as conduits to pass on useful snippets that have proven invaluable. The positive feedback we have received has shown that this has been worthwhile. We are pleased to have been there, not just as brokers, but as an important part of the sector, providing a useful service to both sellers and buyers.

Undoubtedly, there will be some childcare settings which will sadly close and whose sites will be used for alternative purposes. A potential positive outcome of this is that the

nmtproperty

children will relocate to a different setting close to them, which will boost occupancy at these other settings. Therefore, in areas where nurseries have historically run at average occupancy levels, we may see these changes taking some nurseries up to occupancy levels not seen before.

Pre-Covid-19, we were seeing market-setting prices being achieved, and in this resilient market there are still plenty of buyers looking to either enter the market or build on their current portfolios. Premium settings don't just become bad overnight. What active buyers are looking for is how owners have reacted and adapted to the crisis, and what they have put in place to ensure the business can, and will, recover.

Some settings stayed open for the children of key workers during the lockdown, and some have taken the

decision not to fully open until later on in the year. There is not necessarily a right or wrong thing to do in this situation because these are unchartered waters and we are learning all the time. What is clear, however, is that we will always need childcare and we want our children to be safe and learn in an environment with other children.

My view is that premium settings will now become even more sought after, and smaller settings in more rural locations will too because some people may now look to live outside city centres. Or, perhaps, we will find a vaccine and can move

forward into an adapted way of living.

We have seen nursery sales complete throughout this period and some - which were paused – re-ignite in recent weeks. Buyer demand is still very high and can be demonstrated by our new Buyer Registration Index which provides some positive insights about new investment interest in the sector.

Not underestimating the task ahead and the stress and heartache this pandemic has caused, we are still optimistic that the green shoots we are seeing across the sector will continue to grow. â–

â—? To discuss this article in general or your business requirements in particular, please do not hesitate to contact either: T: Nick Brown 07764 241316 or Courteney Donaldson 07831 099985, or E: Courteney.donaldson@christie.com or nick.brown@christie.com

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NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY 57

nmtproperty sold

properties

recently sold

Beach Buddies Childcare sold by Redwoods Dowling Kerr Under the thoughtful guidance of the vendors for the past 7 years, Beach Buddies Childcare has emerged as a highly popular and well-respected day nursery within the Devon locality. Offering a highly desirable fulltime childcare provision, the nursery has enjoyed year-on-year turnover growth.

Housed in a modified church building which recently benefited from a substantial extension, the property provides the perfect environment for children to learn and grow. Contained in the setting are 3 age-designated playrooms. The baby room, toddler room and pre-school room are all

fully furnished with a wide assortment of sensory toys and learning resources, all with access to a generously sized outdoor play area.

Seeking a lifestyle change, the two vendors, Mrs Charlotte Spice and Miss Janet Appleby, made the tough decision to place their nursery onto the market. After instructing Redwoods Dowling Kerr to facilitate the sale, the nursery was promptly sold following a comprehensive marketing campaign, ultimately selling to Buddies Ltd, a group operator in the education industry.

Lead Negotiator Natasha Satterthwaite commented; “We would like to wish Buddies Ltd all the best with their new setting and the owners best of luck with their new future plans.”

RDK: A Complete Childcare Broker: Our dedicated research team carefully analyse the sectors which we operate in, allowing us to tailor our approach to suit your requirements.

Whether it be acquisition, growth, exit strategy or retirement plans, we will work with you to realise your specific goals.

Bizzy Bees Day Nursery sold to expanding nursery group Originally founded in the early 1990’s and acquired by Ayelet Wellard in 2002, Bizzy Bees Day Nursery has earned itself an excellent reputation for being a premier childcare provider in Surrey.

Operating from a deceptively spacious singlestorey property, the nursery setting has been perfectly equipped to offer children an abundance of learning resources and engaging activities to develop them into well-rounded individuals.

Inside the building lies a main open plan classroom, a dedicated staff room, a domestic kitchen, and a children’s toilet block with nappy

changing facilities. To the rear of the property lies a fully enclosed rear garden with ample play equipment suitable for children of all ages.

Offering an excellent childcare provision to children from 3 months to 5 years of age, Bizzy Bees Day Nursery can maintain its enviable reputation, thanks to the compassionate and long-serving team of staff, along with active hands-on involvement from the vendor.

After a comprehensive marketing campaign garnering a substantial amount of interest, Bizzy Bees Day Nursery ultimately sold to Little Garden

Day Nurseries Limited.

The vendor Ayelet Wellard commented; “Sarah, it is time to say thank you very much to you and Kim for a very efficient and friendly service. I enjoyed working with you and Kim. Despite the difficult time that all of us had experienced, you and Kim managed to work as efficient as always. You always kept me informed.

Thank you very much.”

Market Appraisal: If you are interested in potentially selling your childcare business, then get in touch to discuss your exit options.

Colourbox Day Nursery in London acquired by experienced market operator Operating from the same premises for over 30 years by the previous owner Linda Osborn, Colour Box Day Nursery has cemented itself as a premier childcare provider in South East London.

Offering high-quality childcare to children from ages 3 months to 5 years of age, the nursery has earned itself a strong reputation within the locality for offering a home from home atmosphere. As a result of this, the setting earned an Ofsted ‘Good’ rating within its latest inspection.

The nursery is housed in a three-story period property in Peckham, occupying the ground floor

and fully enclosed rear garden. Across the brightly presented floor lies two fully equipped principle classrooms, providing an excellent learning environment for the children.

Following a bespoke marketing campaign by Redwoods Dowling Kerr, this excellent opportunity was snapped up from the market after only 4 viewings by an existing market operator and experienced buyer within the childcare market.

The buyer commented on the sale; “Sarah has been supportive right from the onset when booking viewing appointments till date. She was always at the other end of the

phone when needed giving guidance and updates all the way. Sarah assured me all through which helped me calm my nerves and even chased solicitors when there was a need to. I feel privileged to have worked with Sarah. She was genuinely happy and I felt that in her voice over the phone. Thank you, Sarah.”

Expert Advice: We’ve hosted a series of webinars with live panel discussions offering ideas and suggestions of how you can maximise the value of your childcare business. Watch our webinar: https://redwoodsdk.com/category/webinar/

An excellent investment opportunity sold by Redwoods Dowling Kerr A well-established day nursery since 2009 with a trading history spanning over 30 years as a widely regarded provider of childcare, this investment opportunity has recognised itself in the locality as a prime plot of real estate.

This double fronted 2-storey property benefits from a very neat presentation throughout, with several brightly decorated classrooms across both floors, dedicated toilet blocks and a nappy changing facility.

Having owned the premises for the past 10 years, Mr & Mrs Ahmed decided now was the

58 NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY

time to offer this fantastic opportunity to the market. Understanding Redwoods Dowling Kerr to be the market leading business brokerage in the UK childcare market, and having previously sold 2 separate childcare settings in London through us, we were promptly instructed to facilitate the sale of this property.

The property unsurprisingly amassed a substantial amount of interest from prospective buyers, garnering a total of 17 viewings and 6 separate offers.

Lead Negotiator Sarah Ellison commented;

September / October 2020

“It has been a pleasure working with Mr & Mrs Ahmed again, Redwoods Dowling Kerr have now sold all 3 of their day nurseries to aid in their other business interests and more family time.

Mrs Hussain has been looking for her perfect setting for circa 12 months and I am pleased we have been able to help her finally start up her first nursery, we wish her all the best and hope to see her in the future when she wants to add to her new business venture.”

Looking to sell your nursery: With over 30 years’ experience in the

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brokering deals in the Childcare sector, our insightful and professional services are tailored to maximising your sale price and delivering the best deal possible to you.

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properties

recently sold

Prominent day nursery in Masbrough, South Yorkshire, sold by Redwoods Dowling Kerr Founded in 2000, Happidayz Nursery has long established itself as the premier day nursery for families in Masbrough and the surrounding areas.

Occupying a highly accessible position in a populated residential area, the nursery is ideally located to attract the custom of families within the locality.

Housed in a carefully converted former church hall, the setting provides a bright and friendly atmosphere for the children to learn and play.

With a capacity for 108 children, the nursery makes available a fulltime childcare provision and a highly popular holiday club. The quality of care

is of the upmost importance to the vendors, ensuring their team of long-standing care professionals and managers can dispense the highest possible quality of childcare, as demonstrated in the settings Ofsted ‘Good’ rating.

After formally instructed Redwoods Dowling Kerr to facilitate the sale, an extensive marketing campaign garnered a vast amount of interest with 10 viewings and 5 separate offers.

The buyer commented on the sale; “Working with Natasha was excellent. I have worked with other agents before and they don’t compare to the service Natasha provided. She was

very responsive, took on board all my comments and relayed them swiftly back to the seller keeping the sale on track. Redwoods Dowling Kerr childcare team was easy to get hold of and the client care was excellent, I would highly recommend them, even in these difficult times we did our best to make sure the sale completed.”

Saving Costs for our Clients: Since we have launched our energy service in May, we have saved our clients in excess of

£100,000 pa. Take advantage of the low energy costs by emailing us on energy@redwoodsdk.com to arrange your FREE energy review.

Lead Negotiator Sarah Ellison commented; “Mrs Davitt had run this provision for over 8 years, and it was a pleasure to help her find the right buyers so she can retire. Mr & Mrs Feeley are local and experienced operators who are passionate about continuing the work Mrs Davitt had provided the community for many years. I would like to wish both the buyers and the sellers all the luck in the future.”

Acquisition: We play our role as professional and dedicated childcare brokerage. Our industry leading Corporate Sales Process is bespoke to your sale

and is result driven. Contact us to discuss how Redwoods Dowling Kerr can assist you with your sale and acquisition strategies.

St. Pauls Pre-School sold to family run operator Reaching cornerstone status within its local community, St. Pauls Pre-School has been offering a superb childcare provision since 1973. Situated in the popular Stockport suburb of Heaton Moor, the pre-school is perfectly located to attract custom from families in the surrounding residential area, as well as parents commuting to Stockport or Manchester city centre.

The pre-school has the capacity to offer childcare throughout term time for children from ages 2-5 years. Complimenting the excellent facilities available is a team of highly trained and long serving staff who ensure the quality of care

provided is always to the highest standard, as demonstrated by the settings Ofsted ‘Good’ rating.

Departing owner Heather Davitt made the difficult decision to place the pre-school onto the market in order to pursue retirement. Recognising Redwoods Dowling Kerr as the market leading brokerage within the childcare market, we were formally instructed to facilitate the sale.

Following a comprehensive marketing campaign netting a total of 6 viewings and 3 separate offers, the pre-school was ultimately sold to owners of nearby pre-school and day nursery.

To find out more details about the businesses available for sale, and sold, through Redwoods Dowling Kerr please visit: www.redwoodsdk.com

Elmscot Day Nursery in Nantwich sold to local operator, La Maternelle Ltd, through Christie & Co Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, is delighted to announce the sale of Elmscot Day Nursery and Nursery School in Nantwich, Cheshire, to local operating group, La Maternelle Ltd. Elmscot Day Nursery is a freehold setting which operates from an attractive, detached property set within a leafy suburb of Nantwich conveniently positioned just a five-minute drive from the town centre. The nursery, which has recently been refurbished, boasts versatile and vibrant playrooms, offering an impressive private outdoor play area, and is supported by a team of highly qualified and skilled staff, including an excellent longstanding full time Manager and Deputy Manager.

The business was established by its current owners, Elmscot Day Nurseries Ltd, who own seven exceptional settings located in Cheshire and South Manchester. The group took the decision to sell the nursery as its geographical location set the business a little out on a limb from the rest of the group.

Ms Dee Mckenzie, Director of Elmscot Group,

comments, “We have worked with Christie & Co on a number of occasions over the years and were extremely happy with the service provided by Sofia and how quickly she found us a buyer. We have loved seeing the children and staff thrive since we took over at Elmscot Nantwich and we are so pleased to hand over to La Maternelle. They are an outstanding local provider who will be able to support them from a closer proximity and are the perfect fit for the nursery.”

The nursery has been purchased by La Maternelle Ltd, an expanding local childcare operator who already run two high quality day nurseries; one in Wistaston, near Crewe, and one in Sandbach.

Director of La Maternelle, Mr Will Brown, comments, “We are delighted to take over ownership of the Elmscot setting in Nantwich. We are a family business offering high-quality care in Wistaston and Sandbach and are delighted to have this opportunity to offer care to parents in

Nantwich. One of the nursery's attributes is a strong family ethos, as the name La Maternelle derives from the French meaning 'A Homely Place'. We care passionately about each child's future, and develop positive partnerships with parents and carers.”

Sofia Beck, Associate Director of Childcare & Education at Christie & Co, who handled the sale, comments, “Knowing both the sellers and the buyers well, we were able to match this opportunity

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September / October 2020

suitably. La Maternelle had been looking for a site in Nantwich for some time and Elmscot Nantwich was an obvious strong fit which encouraged a short marketing process. The two parties formed a solid relationship from start to finish, which encouraged the sale to continue and complete despite the current conditions.”

Elmscot Day Nursery and Nursery School was sold at an undisclosed price.

NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY 59

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properties

recently sold

Day Nursery in prime London location sold through Christie & Co Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, is delighted to announce the sale of Little House Day Nursery in Pimlico, London.

Little House Day Nursery was established in 1998 and has since grown into a business reputed for its high-quality childcare. This children’s day nursery boasts well presented, light and airy rooms spread across two floors of an attractive large church building. Each room is arranged by age and has been equipped to an impressive standard with an array of both learning and play equipment. The business has an effective operating capacity for 64 children and is Ofsted rated “Good”.

The site is located in Pimlico, Central London, and resides in a residential area, very close to a Victoria Line underground station and a central London railway terminus, making this the ideal position for commuting parents that live locally or those who work in the area.

Since its establishment, Little House Day

Nursery has been owned and run by Mr Colin Shaw and Ms Rachel Higbee, who have decided to sell in order to pursue a well-earned retirement. The pair believe their greatest achievement was creating a warm, caring and nurturing environment for hundreds of children over the years. Ms Higbee comments, “Thank you for all your hard work! It is greatly appreciated.”

The nursery has been purchased by The Childcare and Learning Group, an established operator with seventeen nurseries across London and the South East.

Sophie Willcox, Associate Director of Childcare & Education at Christie & Co, who handled the sale, comments, “I have known Rachel for many years and I am delighted to have assisted her in the sale of her nursery which generated a lot of interest given its central London location and fantastic reputation.”

Little House Day Nursery was sold at an undisclosed price.

Group of two preschools in Dorset sold through Christie & Co Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, is delighted to announce the sale of TE Childcare Ltd, trading as Hoppers and Sparkling Stars Preschools.

Hoppers opened 30 years ago by the current owners’ mother, Jill Evans. Jill embarked on opening her own preschool after struggling to find suitable childcare for her son Toby. Toby took on the business six years ago and expanded to a second site by opening Sparkling Stars as demand and his reputation grew. The pre-schools had a combined effective operating capacity of 56 and have both been rated “Good” by Ofsted for the entirety of their operation.

Toby decided to sell to pursue other business ventures and comments, “Having met with a number of agencies it was a no-brainer to entrust Sophie and Nick to sell my business. Their professionalism and discretion was second to none and I am very glad I chose them to guide me through what is known to be a very stressful process.”

Sophie Willcox, Associate Director of Childcare & Education at Christie & Co, who handled the sale, comments, “I’m delighted to have found Toby a buyer to carry on his and his mother’s legacy and wish the new owners the best of luck with the preschools in the future.”

TE Childcare was sold at an undisclosed price.

Christie & Co has the largest dedicated team of childcare business property agents in Europe.

For further information about businesses for sale through Christie & Co, go to www.christie.com/business-search/childcare and for details of businesses recently sold, go to www.christie.com/business-search/childcare/sold

C O N TA C T S U M M A R Y CHRISTIE & CO

REDWOODS DOWLING KERR

SCOTLAND

LONDON

SPECIALIST NURSERY TEAM

Martin Daw.......................... 0131 524 3406 Rosie Adlem..........................0131 524 3401

Sophie Willcox...................... 0203 846 0619 Lucy Mclean..........................0203 846 0612

CHESHIRE / NORTH WEST

SOUTH WEST

Sofia Beck.............................0161 833 6915

Jassie Sunner........................ 0121 452 3708

MIDLANDS

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Jassi Sunner.......................... 0121 452 3708

Courteney Donaldson........... 07831 099 985 Nick Brown........................... 07764 241 316

Jenna.Caldwell@redwoodsdk.com Bryan.Fotheringham@redwoodsdk.com Karrina.Lee@redwoodsdk.com Robert.Forrester@redwoodsdk.com Sarah.Ellison@redwoodsdk.com Mark.Phillips@redwoodsdk.com Natasha.Satterthwaite@redwoodsdk.com Matthew.Preston@redwoodsdk.com Kim.Emsley@redwoodsdk.com Mathew.Parkinson@redwoodsdk.com Robert.Yates@redwoodsdk.com Andy.Sharp@redwoodsdk.com Head Office Telephone: 08442 488 322 / 01772 775 780 Email: sales@redwoodsdk.com

YORKSHIRE / NORTH EAST

Vicky Marsland..................... 0161 833 6914

60 NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY

September / October 2020

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REGIONAL DIRECTORS

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September / October 2020

NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY 61

REPUTATION DISCRETION KNOWLEDGE

Deals Completed During Lockdown SOLD

SOLD

Smart Start Day Nursery Ltd West Midlands

SOLD Carr Manor Nursery Lancashire

E

North Bushy & Abbots Langley Her ordshire

PROJ E C T

EXODUS

SOLD

SOLD

Project Exodus Manchester

A Selection Of Sales Agreed During Lockdown

Bundles of Joy Day Nursery West Midlands

Nursery - South West Sale Agreed - March 2020

Out Of School Club - West Midlands Sale Agreed - March 2020

Group of 4 Nurseries - North West Sale Agreed - April 2020

Playgroup - North West Sale Agreed - May 2020

Group of 5 Nurseries - North West Sale Agreed - May 2020

Ac vity Centre - South West Sale Agreed - June 2020

Day Nursery - East Midlands Sales Agreed - June 2020

Day Nursery - South Yorkshire Sale Agreed - June 2020

To see our latest Childcare opportunities throughout the UK visit: redwoodsdk.com

Contact us to discuss your exit strategy

TO BUY: 0844 3877 406

www.redwoodsdk.com/childcare

TO SELL: 0844 3877 407

Redwoods Dowling Kerr

@RedwoodsDK

We’ve launched an exci ng new energy service with the aim of delivering energy savings to business owners. Take advantage of the low energy costs by emailing us on energy@redwoodsdk.com to arrange your FREE Energy Review.

THE COMPLETE CHILDCARE BROKER LANCASHIRE FREEHOLD

CUMBRIA FREEHOLD

WEST YORKSHIRE FREEHOLD

CORNWALL LEASEHOLD

Reference: 47872

Reference: 47775

Reference: 47784

Reference: 47838

£1,350,000

£725,000

£535,000

£379,950

• Turnover of £627k y/e 2019 with an EBITDA of £250k • Capacity for 110 children • Experienced management team • Rated 'Good' by Ofsted

• Turnover of £207k y/e 2019 with an EBITDA of £55k plus • Capacity for 27 children • 4 bed family home • Historically high occupancy

• Fee income of £181k y/e 2018 • Capacity for 23 children • Substantial & well presented property • Excellent reputation

• Fee income approx £392k y/e 2019 • Capacity for 90 children • Presented to a high standard • Detached purpose built

YORKSHIRE LEASEHOLD

STAFFORDSHIRE LEASEHOLD

OXFORDSHIRE LEASEHOLD

CHESHIRE LEASEHOLD

Reference: 47881

Reference: 47898

Reference: 47856

Reference: 47723

£350,000

£325,000

£230,000

£225,000

• Income of £427k y/e 2020 • Capacity for 42 children • Superbly presented throughout • Historically high occupancy

• Income of £454k y/e 2019 • Capacity for 57 children • Operated with an experienced team • Rated 'Good' by Ofsted

• Fee income of £485k y/e 2019

• Fee income of £247k y/e 2019

WREXHAM LEASEHOLD

LONDON LEASEHOLD

WILTSHIRE LEASEHOLD

BELFAST LEASEHOLD

Reference: 47889

Reference: 47854

Reference: 47697

Reference: 47891

£220,000

• Turnover of £340k y/e 2020 • Capacity for 72 children • Nursery, after school & holiday club • Spacious outdoor area

£170,000

• Turnover of £227k y/e 2019 • Capacity for 32 children • Fantastic growth potential • Superbly appointed throughout

• Capacity for 54 children • Run under experienced management team • Excellent reputation

£145,000

• Fee income of £282k y/e 2019 • Capacity for 55 children with scope to expand • 2 x leasehold pre school/ nurseries

• Capacity for 32 children • Well presented modern building • Excellent reputation

£125,000

• Fee income of £132k y/e 2019 • Thriving out of school club • Well presented premises • Historically high occupancy levels

CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES

PROJECT

IVORY LANCASHIRE

HAMPSHIRE

DEVON

DEVON

A GROUP

LEASEHOLD

A GROUP

FREEHOLD

Reference: 47685

Reference: 47658

Reference: 47674

Reference: 47773

• A group of four charming day nurseries • Combined capacity for 307 children • Income of £991k with an adjusted EBITDA of £218k

• Established day nursery • Capacity for 40 children • Income of £404k with an adjusted EBITDA of £144k •Rated 'Good' by Ofsted

• Group of 2 day nurseries • Combined capacity for 156 children • Combined income of £865k • Boasts high occupancy with genuine growth potential

• Nursery based over three large buildings • Capacity for 150 children with potential to expand • Income of £900k • Rated 'Good' by Ofsted

£1,600,000

Bids Invited

Bids Invited

Bids Invited

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all nursery owners, operators and their sta who, during these di cult times, have rea rmed their position as frontline providers of care, vital for helping the country through this pandemic.

O en referred to as the fourth emergency service, we are so grateful that the sector is run by such an amazing collection of people.

Christie & Co is the UK’s most active adviser to the childcare and education sector, o ering a complete range of services to support operators, investors and developers through their investment and business lifecycle.

Business. Built around you.

Rainbow Bright Childcare, Dundee

Freehold £795,000 • Registered for 55

Our Childcare team has advised on virtually every major UK day nursery portfolio transaction since 2006.

Vacant Day Nursery, Greater Manchester

• EBITDA c. £65,000

T: 07764 241 280 5280020

Freehold £475,000

Children’s Nursery, Edinburgh

• E ective operating capacity of 60

Freehold £425,000 • E ective operating capacity of 47

• EBITDA c. £90,000 T: 07764 241 280

T: 07736 616 687

5280012

4280360

Leasehold £270,000

• Fully managed

Day Nursery, Cumbria

Freehold OIEO £1,000,000 • Leasehold option

• Former 53 place nursery

• Fully managed

• Huge scope & potential T: 07736 616 687

T: 07526 175 857

4280212

4280265

Day Nursery, North Wales

Day Nursery, North Yorkshire Freehold £400,000 • Capacity for up to 89 children

• Scope to expand

T: 07526 175 857 4280358

Day Nursery, South London

LH £350,000/FH £715,000

Day Nursery, Gloucestershire

• Option to acquire freehold or leasehold

• Ofsted rating 'Outstanding'

T: 0203 846 0619 4280261 Freehold, £1,300,000 • Ofsted Rating 'Outstanding'

• Strong underlying property value, EBITDA of £120,000 T: 0203 846 0619

Day Nursery, Su olk

Freehold £575,000 • E ective operating capacity of 37

• EBITDA £75,000

T: 0779 1979 343 5880005

4280359

christie.com

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