Opening a Nursery in 2024

INTRO

If you are planning to open a nursery, it’s important to be aware of the different nursery setup costs in the UK.

These costs will naturally vary from the location of the premises you choose to set up within, to staff wages, to everyday supplies such as food and cleaning equipment.

It’s important to remember that the most important thing when setting up your nursery is the development and wellbeing of the children in your care. Therefore, it is essential to get your financial plan right from the beginning in order to provide the best quality of care, and ensure access to equipment and supplies at all times.

Despite this being your priority, in order to have a viable business you need to ensure your business is profitable in order to run smoothly and have long-term success.

As a result, it’s important for you to plan properly so that you put the right money in, to get the right money out.

In this video post we will go over some of the key costs to consider when drawing up your business plan so you are financially prepared for cost that may come your way.

Plus, stick around to the end to see how you can get access two free things that will help you to get started with your business plan and opening your nursery.

But, first welcome to the channel…

INTRO VID…

Welcome to the channel open a nursery with myself Curtly Ania, where I teach you to open run and grow your own childcare business.

As stated, in today’s video we are going over the different nursery set-up costs involved with opening a nursery.

Purchasing an already set-up nursery can be very expensive, so if you don’t have a large budget and want to establish your own nursery you will need to start budgeting for your nursery.

Nursery setup costs will differ from nursery to nursery, as there are a variety of things to consider such as:

• The location you choose
• Whether you are using an existing nursery or starting from scratch
• The size of your nursery
• How many children you plan to take on
• The equipment you need for activities you have planned

These are key considerations to think about before you can start planning to set up a nursery, as you not only need to cover these costs, but also additional costs such as running the nursery, hiring staff, purchasing insurance, and marketing your business.

We will go into what costs you need to consider here.

The costs you will incur can be split into two sections, set-up costs and your ongoing costs involved with running your nursery.

Planning for both of these will be important to running your nursery successfully, but in this video, we will just go over the set-up costs.

Starting with your nursery building.

Nursery Building

The building you choose for your nursery will most likely be your biggest expenditure.

If you find a building that is in a good state then you won’t need to spend lot’s on doing up the building you may just need to pay for minor things like safety checks, a coat of paint and new equipment, meaning you can open up your nursery quicker than usual.

However, if you decide to convert a building or even build a nursery from scratch, this will take a lot longer, and can cost a lot more.

When thinking about your premises you need to take into consideration the specific government regulations with regards to providing space for children which requires you to provide 3.5 square metres of space for every child under 2 years of age, 2.5 square metres for 2 year olds and 2.3 metres of space for children aged 3-5.  

You will also need to think about other things like the amount of toilets, hand basins etc.

This means the more children you have attending your nursery, the more space you will need in order to provide the correct facilities.

You will need to think about covering the rent, mortgages and any deposits associated with securing and opening your nursery prior to opening.

Refurbishments and renovations

Now, regardless of what type of building you get for your nursery, you will need to do some form of renovations and refurbishments to make it yours.

This is another cost you will need to consider.

Even simple tasks can add up and become a larger cost as you not only need to factor in the cost of equipment, but also possibly the cost of hiring professionals.

Some common renovation and refurbishment costs include:

• The kitchen – you may need to install professional kitchen equipment such as an oven, microwave, and fridge, in order to prepare fresh healthy meals for the children.
• The laundry room – you may need to install a washing machine and tumble dryer, in order to wash and dry children’s clothes in the event of an accident or after messy play activities.
• Flooring – just as outdoor flooring should be updated to a softer material, indoor flooring should be rubber, vinyl, or carpet, and rugs should be scattered throughout to avoid slips and falls.
• Toilets and bathrooms – as noted above, toilet areas should be equipped with enough toilets, basins and suitable changing facilities in the event of accidents.
• The quiet area – you must provide a quiet area for reading or sleeping and relaxing for the children, therefore you will need to have comfortable flooring and seating such as soft cushions, small bean bags and blankets.

Once you have renovated areas accordingly and you now have the appropriate facilities to run a nursery, it’s time to consider the types of equipment you are going to need to purchase.

Equipment

Depending on the types of activities you offer at your nursery and the type of brand you want to create for your nursery will determine what equipment you require for it.

So what you purchase may be slightly different from other nurseries you have visited, but visiting other nurseries is a good first step to decide what items you may want.

Some nurseries don’t have access to a large outdoor space so they don’t need to purchase an extensive amount of outdoor equipment.

However, more often than not, nurseries provide similar facilities as it’s important to adhere to government regulations and offer outdoor space, a quiet area, tables and chairs, storage, art supplies and various toys and books.

As a nursery owner you must provide a wide selection of materials to maximise the learning and development of every child.

Some ideas of things to purchase to get you started include:

• Mats, carpets and cushions
• Chairs, tables and art supplies
• Reading resources
• Outdoor equipment

Insurance and registration costs

There are legal costs involved with setting up your business.

In order to protect your business, your staff, and most importantly the children in your care, you will need to consider purchasing several types of insurance to ensure you’re covered in every eventuality.

This may include policies such as:

• • Public liability insurance
  • Employers liability insurance
  • Professional Indemnity insurance
  • Commercial property insurance
  • Business interruption insurance

The cost of each of these policies will differ again depending on the number of children and staff your nursery holds, and the needs of your nursery overall.

Nevertheless, insurance policies are a requirement before you can open your nursery so they must be included within your setup costs.

Other legal expenses to include in your set-up costs, is the cost of registering your nursery and the cost of registering your business.

Staff

There are a wide range of staff that you will have to recruit for if you plan to open your own nursery.

You will need to factor in the cost of recruiting, your staff wages and training costs into your set-up costs.

Depending on the size of your nursery and the number of children you are taking care of, you may need a Nursery Manager, Deputy, Room Leaders and several Nursery Practitioners or apprentices, (at both full-time and part-time level).  You may also need Kitchen and cleaning staff too.

Each staff member that you hire will require different salaries and different levels of training depending on their previous experience.

This can make up a sizable portion of your setup costs and will continue to be an ongoing cost, forming part of your running costs.

Marketing

Once you have secured your building you should start to think about marketing your nursery.

You want to build some buzz around your nursery and should try to market to parents as early as possible.

Marketing and advertising doesn’t have to be a large setup cost, and you can find some great ideas for marketing your nursery in the book 99 proven ways to market your childcare business.

But, it doesn’t have to be a large set-up cost it’s an essential step if you are going to attract parents.

This again will be an ongoing cost once you are open, but as you reach capacity should hopefully be less costly for you.

Marketing and advertising materials may include:

• • A website for your nursery
  • Roller banners or billboard adverts
  • Hosting open days or nursery visits
  • Content marketing such as blogs or social media

Most of these marketing and advertising materials come at a price so it is worth weighing up which ones will work best for your business in order to attract prospective families to your nursery.

Everyday consumables

You will need to purchase some items you plan to use daily for when you start up.

These will form part of your running costs, but you will need to have some before opening.

Consumables such as cleaning equipment, food, and medical supplies should be purchased regularly to ensure your nursery is always well stocked, however in the initial nursery setup stages you should have money set aside for these materials too.

Running Costs

Your running costs don’t necessarily form part of your set-up costs.

However, you should budget for this at the start especially for the first few months before you start making a profit.

As you don’t want to run into a situation where you are starting to see things pick up but you don’t have enough money to help you reach your goals or targets.

Your running costs will include your everyday consumables mentioned earlier, as well as things like your rent, staff wages, marketing etc.

Conclusion:

As we have gone over in this video, there are a variety of nursery setup costs to consider when starting up your own nursery business.

There are multiple costs to plan for from essential renovations and equipment purchases, to staffing costs and day-to-day supplies, and this is will only form one section of your nursery business plan!

Alongside this you will have to consider the services you offer, marketing your business, choosing a location, and adhering to government regulations, so there is a lot to think about before your nursery has even opened its doors.

Thankfully, I have two free gifts for those of you who have made it this far.  Go to the description or the comments now and firstly download your free nursery business plan template.  This is a simple business plan structured for a nursery and will help you to get started planning and opening your nursery.

Download it for free now.

But before you do take advantage of my second free offering.

Get started opening your nursery by enrolling on the free course.  There you will work on your survival budget so you can make sure you have enough to cover your personal finances, get support writing your business plan and learn the key steps needed to open your nursery.

So, if you want to get started opening your own nursery enrol on the free course now, just click the link in the description or in the comments now.

Good luck in your journey and as always, I am here to support you.

God bless.