A nursery business is a rewarding and profitable venture. It also allows you to provide an essential service to an area.
Opening a nursery in the Beverley area helps you work with the community, but you will need to consider many aspects of the business before you take the plunge. Here are some of the things to consider when opening a nursery in the Beverley area.
The Location In Beverley
Firstly, the location of your nursery will be critical for its success. You already know that you will be based somewhere in Beverley, but you still need to narrow it down. You are likely to be more interested if you are based in the town centre rather than the outskirts. This is because there will be more people close by. This is both in terms of where they live and where they work.
The location itself needs to be accessible for parents and should be in a safe and well-maintained area. Not only should this location be convenient for the parents, but it should be convenient for your staff and suppliers. This means being on a bus route and being close to suppliers.
Once you find an area you’re happy with, you should research the local competition. This can help you figure out if you have much chance to break into the market. It will also benefit your nursery to research the area’s demographics, help grow your understanding, and help you create a solid business plan.
Staff And Support
As with any nursery in any location, having a dedicated and qualified team will help you find success. Before opening in Beverley, you should ensure you have a team ready to go. Try to get a mix of experienced staff and new staff, so you can get fresh ideas and bring organisation and experience to the nursery.
Staff will need to have a minimum of a level 2 qualification in childcare and education. For higher-up staff and room leaders, they will need to have a level 3 qualification. Some nurseries will provide training alongside the job, either partnering with local colleges or online institutions.
Staff will also need to be regularly trained in first aid, and they will need to undergo regular training so that they can keep up with the latest developments in childcare. This helps with safeguarding and can help a nursery to be effective and safe.
Equipment And Resources
A nursery will need certain equipment and resources in order to function and be effective. For example, the nursery will need cots or cribs for babies to sleep in. An effective nursery will also need to make use of high chairs and booster seats. At the very least, a nursery should have this equipment on hand somewhere, just in case they need it.
Of course, a nursery will also need educational and otherwise toys. These toys should be safe to use, and clean at all times. Speaking of cleaning, you will need to ensure that your nursery has cleaning supplies aplenty, as well as space for a clean changing area.
There are other bits you may want in your nursery. For example, you will need first-aid supplies, but you may also want reading materials for the children and outdoor playthings. Outside of the nursery, you should consider what other sort of equipment and resources you would need.
If your new nursery wants to be ready to take the kids on trips around the Beverley area or outside of Beverley, then you will need a school minibus. After investing a lot of money into your new nursery, you may be looking for affordable ways to get a school minibus. You don’t have to purchase a minibus outright, however. You can lease a school minibus from The Minibus Centre. These minibuses have room for up to 17 people and will allow you to take the kids to various locations around Beverley.
Safety And Security
One of the most important things that any nursery will need comes in the form of safety and security. You will need to work hard to help keep the nursery secure. This means having locks on the doors and fences and security measures. Safety and security will need to be taken incredibly seriously when operating a new nursery.
You should have clear safety and security measures put in place that help safeguard the children. Many different elements contribute to this. For example, you should have a clear path for training in conjunction with the national standard, as well as what you do in-house. There should be a safety policy that everyone can read and understand.
There should be a clear plan for what happens if the safety policy is broken, intentionally or otherwise. Safeguarding is important within the nursery industry. You also need to do your due diligence when hiring staff. DBS checks will be essential when hiring new workers for your new nursery. This helps protect the children. The check looks at the criminal record of those who would like to work at the nursery.
What They Will Learn
It’s also important to clearly understand what the children in your new Beverley nursery will be learning. They will need to follow the age-appropriate curriculum that is approved by the governing authorities. As this will involve babies up to pre-schoolers, this should align with the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, also known as the EYFS.
This framework is a set of guidelines that covers what a nursery should do for the development and care of children up until the age of five. It covers a few different areas of learning, as well as covering their personal, social, and emotional development, too. The framework will assist your new nursery with helping the toddlers with communication and language, as well as helping them understand the world and build key skills.
If you’re unsure where to start with this, then looking at how other nurseries in the Beverley area apply the framework could be beneficial. You should also read it in depth, and look at nursery policies to have a good understanding. If you can’t quite get your head around it, consider hiring experts with vast experience in this industry, as they may be able to advise and help you get ahead of the framework and implement a plan.
Advertising The Nursery
As with any business, advertising will be key to your success. You will need to advertise your nursery to help bring in more children and grow as a business. There will be several ways for you to advertise the nursery. There will be traditional and physical efforts, such as creating flyers and posters and spreading the news via word of mouth.
There will also be more modern and digital ways to advertise the nursery. For example, you could make use of social media. This can be targeted to help reach your local audience and a wider audience in general. This will be useful if you are expanding your pre-established nursery into Beverley or starting here for the first time in general.
You will also need to think about the nurseries website, too. Research nursery websites to see how they inform parents about the curriculum, showcase services, and how optimised the website is in general. Your new Beverly-based website should be accessible and provide a smooth user experience. If it’s not, this could prevent parents from contacting your nursery, and they may not believe it to be very professional.
