Advice required please :-)

Advice required please :-)

by: bethan3004 - 10-02-06 20:59

Hi everyone,

I'm a qualified EY/KS1 teacher looking into running a small Nursery (about 18 kids max). Prior to this I trained as a nursery nurse. I've seen a property but have some questions.
1. Can a baby room be upstairs? (I would put a fire escape on the side)
2. Are there guidelines on how much outside space children require? (I know the requirements for indoor, the outside space is small).
3. Can the sleeping area be in the main area? (I could place a particion wall) Or does it have to be a separate room?

Ideally I'd get a huge place but would need to be a millionaire! The nusery would be one main area down stairs (2-5year olds) and baby room upstairs in smaller room (but still meeting child:space requirements).

Thanking you in advance,
Bethan

by: baby_girl

hi,
yes a baby room could be upstairs (it is in my nursery), as long as it meets all criteria.
Not sure on the others.
Hope this helps.

Advice required please :-) - 10-02-06 22:43

by: bethan3004

Thank u baby_girl.
Can anyone else advise me re outdoor space and sleep area.
Also baby_girl, do you have to have a separate room for baby changing or would a piece of the room sectioned off be ok?(i would put hand washing facilities there).
Thank u :-)

Advice required please :-) - 11-02-06 16:00

by: hillika

Hi Bethan 3004
Your baby uint can be up stairs and you wont need to put in an external fire escape. All that you will be required to do is a risk assessment and have clear guidelines in place for the staff to follow should there ever be a fire. Make all your staff aware of the fire procedure and who has to do what, ie: some down stairs staff to help get the older children out of the building and the rest of the staff to go up stairs to help get the babies out. Have regular fire drills, time these and record the dates, ofsted would be looking for fire drill information anyway. As long as all your staff know what they should be doing this should be fine. Take a walk into your local fire station and ask that the fire safety officer contact you for advice, they shouldn't charge you for this service and they will inform you on what exstingishers you need and where to place them.
It doesn't matter about the size of your out door area as long as it's secure and the children are grouped in such a way that you are not over crowding it all at once. You may have to allocate times to each unit when they can use it. After all not every nursery has an outdoor play area that they can use and as long as you can show ofsted that you can safely take the children out into the locality, parks etc this will be fine.
If you look in your FULL DAY CARE: GUIDANCE TO THE NATIONAL STANDARDS book, under Annex A, Babies and Children Under 2, page 62 it will give you all the information regarding a base room for children of this age.
Hope this has been of some help to you. If there is anything else, there are many people who use this site who can provide you with good, sound information.
Good luch
Hillika

Advice required please :-) - 11-02-06 16:08

by: hillika

Another thing Bethan 3004,
What type of property are you looking at. If it is a residential house that you will be refurbishing you will have to get change of use from your local planning department, this can take anything up to 3 months. If there is anything I can advise you with regarding this, post your email address and I will be happy to help.

Advice required please :-) - 11-02-06 20:15

by: bethan3004

Thank u hillika for your help. I'm watching the lottery as I type this, crossing everything that I win!
It's a commercial property with a flat above it - all for a bargain price of £179,000. It is a real bargain! The current owner had no objections for change of use, I'm local and the nearest nursery is 5 miles away.
I would be very grateful for more help. My e-mail is bethanmobi@hotmail.com
Cheers, bethan

Advice required please :-) - 11-02-06 20:18

by: bethan3004

Well, I've just won on the lottery ... £10!
(Better than nothing!) :-)

Advice required please :-) - 11-02-06 20:27

by: baby_girl

Hi, we have the changing units in one of the play rooms, with the sink and nappy bins to the side.
Obviously, sprays and hand towels, etc are kept high up out of reach.

Advice required please :-) - 11-02-06 20:38

by: bethan3004

Thank u baby-girl.

The only concern remaining then is about sleep area. I am in Wales and therefore follow the guidelines from CSIW rather than OFSTED. Any nurseries out there with sleep area in main area?

Thanks guys, you're ever so helpful.

Advice required please :-) - 12-02-06 12:11

by: emma_m

hi, i have worked in 2 day nurseries, and in both of them we have used the main rooms as sleep rooms. where i work at the moment, the children sleep in the baby room, (babies and children from the nursery room who need a sleep) and the children who are not having a sleep in the baby room at that time are taken through to the nursery room with a member of staff. this seems to work for us as all the children, other than the young babies, sleep at the same time, usually just after lunch. hope this helps.
emma xx

Advice required please :-) - 12-02-06 14:07

by: bethan3004

Thank you Emma.
By now I've thought of another question, (sorry guys!) Parking, there is no parking but there is space on the street nearby and a shared alley where 3 members of staff could park. Will this be ok? Any comments?
Thanks

Advice required please :-) - 12-02-06 15:37

by: hillika

Hi Bethan,
Again your parking would depend on your local planning department. You haven't said what the premises are being used for at the moment. You will propably find that you will still have to apply for change of use, different premises have different planning codes, this may not be the case in Wales, if so, all the better for you. Call the planning office and speak to the duty planning officer and ask all the questions you can think of but what ever you do, dont buy the place untill you know exactly what you need. The planning will get the transport department involved with regards to highway safety and they will tell you what they require you to have. Sometimes we find premises that would be ideal for childcare but the authorities that we have to please don't see it our way.
Keep at it!!

Advice required please :-) - 13-02-06 21:54

by: bethan3004

Hi'hillika'
Please could you e-mail me and then I could tell you more information - don't wnat to give too much away incase someone else steals the place!
Also can anone name a supplier for kiddy sized toilets - would need to convert an utility room (keep the other one for laundry room) - builder reckons around £20,000 for all of that!
Saw a business adviser today who reckons I could get some EU funding. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Advice required please :-) - 14-02-06 16:03

by: hillika

Hi Bethan
Have emailed you, if you don't get it let me know through the site

Advice required please :-) - 15-02-06 12:35

by: newsetting

Hi bethan,

Firstly-GOOD LUCK! With reference to your queries I seem to have had a different experience than the others did. I had a building in mind prior to setting up my first nursery which sounds quiet similar to yours. The baby room would have had to been on the first floor. The Early Years Advisor who visited told me that this was far from ideal and that the fire officer would have an issue with it. When the fire officer visited I was told that I would need to put in an external emergency fire exit, as one exit was not enough-even with the in depth fire procedure. It may depend on who inspects you but it would be worth bearing in mind!

Advice required please :-) - 15-02-06 17:01

by: bethan3004

Thanks for your comments newsetting. Can I ask did you look into the cost of installing an external fire escape? Even if I was told that I didn't need one I'd be happier having one 'just to be safe'. Cheers