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The Elmscot Group Steph Molnar & Dee Dee McKenzie
By Fay Wertheimer
orkmates in scientific software for six years, former marketing manager Steph and European finance manager Dee, quit in spring 2001 to co-found Elmscot Day Nursery in Timperley – the first of four in their award-winning company, providing early years’ education and eight out-of-school clubs for primary pupils. Neither Steph nor Dee are education professionals. Friendship, trust and expertise in business planning and management underpin their success. Yorkshire-born Steph grew up in South Africa and, in the UK, amassed degrees in biology and business studies from Bristol, London and Warwick universities. Closer to home, Hale-born Dee qualified in management accountancy in Manchester. Why a nursery? Well, both women were expecting their second child. Work, travel and handling their toddlers became stressful. The local nursery would close down after Christmas and wasn’t baby-friendly anyway. They were stumped. Outgoing Steph recalls, “My Mum suddenly suggested I open my own place! How could I? I can’t teach. Then came her unforgettable mantra, ‘Steph, what is there you cannot learn?’”
Steph devised a business plan, Dee joined her and, in July 2001, they employed their first teacher, guaranteeing her compensation if their venture failed. In September, the women bought a large property, spent 18-hours a day scrubbing it clean — in between giving birth and breastfeeding — and, in November, alongside five staff, welcomed 17 little ones into their first nursery. By summer 2002, 60 children were signed up. Relentless networking at antenatal classes, advertising on buses and garnering fellow mums’ support had paid off — and, being parentowners, it was win-win in relation to looking after their own children. Now a mum of three, Dee says, “People knew what’s good enough for our children, would be good enough for theirs. Though we were office-based and our youngsters were in class, we were in the same building from opening time until closing time. We cooked too, and to relieve other working mums, often sent home ready-made meals we’d prepped for our own families.” They constantly defer to their teachers’ professionalism (“unlike us, they know what they’re doing with kids!”), follow up their feedback and implement relevant changes. In fact, Woodlands Nursery opened in February 2006, not merely to absorb Elmscot’s waiting list, but to retain staff
whose careers could not progress at the latter. Now, the Trafford Business Awardwinning company boasts 1,600 registered pupils aged 0 to 11 years, 190 staff (30% with over five years’ service) and teachers, 35% of whom have graduate and post-graduate qualifications. The duo are no longer service users but providers and, with their kids now teenagers, they work relatively normal hours – when they’re not writing articles or judging national professional awards! It’s 2016. The Elmscot Group enjoys national, regional, local and sector recognition. It has also turned full circle. 15 years on, past pupils are applying for work experience with their alma mater and expansion is in the pipeline. Steph concludes, “Dee and I started Elmscot as friends, but we had no idea how well we’d complement each other in business too. We’ve inadvertently created a 200-strong community of like-minded people; passionate about nurturing inquisitive minds. It’s wonderful.” It’s also worlds away from scientific software.
Elmscot Group Tel: 0161 980 0003 w: elmscot.co.uk
December/January 2016/17 | salutions.co.uk
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