Nursery Management: Case Study - Cheshire Day Nursery

Business is booming for the Cheshire Day Nursery, which opened its latest setting in June. Sisters Julie Mannering and Brenda Burling, who own the chain of nurseries based throughout the north-west of England, opened their fifth nursery - on the site of Warrington District Hospital - just three months after acquiring the setting.

Ms Burling says, 'We were speaking to an agent at Christies about buying a nursery and she advised us that another setting, a former Fledglings Day Nursery, was on the market and the owner of the group was keen to sell the building as it had been closed for three years.

'On viewing the former Fledglings building, we knew it had fantastic potential and we were fortunate in that we already had the finances in place to move quickly. We are constantly looking for fresh and exciting challenges and this opportunity just seemed to land in our lap.'

The sisters purchased the 113-place nursery in March and opened for business in June, after carrying out major refurbishment.

'Initially, we were going to do very little to the building, but when we reflected on how the nursery business has changed since the setting was built 14 years ago we decided the premises would need some major work doing to it.'

Ms Burling explains how the building was taken back to its skeleton and completely refurbished. 'We wanted to make the whole environment feel more spacious and light, so we added more windows and knocked through rooms to create opportunities for free-flow play.'

Other building work included installing closed circuit TV throughout the nursery and adapting the staffroom and office.

As with the other nurseries in the chain, the new setting offers yoga, dance and movement and Spanish. A sports and fitness club is also planned, which will open at the end of the year. While a manager and ten members of staff were initially recruited to run the nursery, a further four members of staff have now been employed to meet rising occupancy.

Working with staff to maintain quality

Julie Mannering, who has five years of experience working in childcare, and Brenda Burling, a former nurse and midwife, opened their first nursery in 2000 in Latchford, a district in the south of Warrington, after realising there was a gap in the market for flexible, quality childcare in the area. Ms Mannering says, 'We knew that our individual qualities complemented each other's and that our wealth of experience would give reassurance to parents and carers.

'We felt it was the right time to start and develop a business, as my youngest child was beginning school and there was a real gap in the market for settings that offered flexible quality childcare within Warrington.'

The sisters say the nursery was the first in Warrington to offer extended hours and provide care on a Saturday. Within six months of opening, the pair had increased the number of children from 40 registered places to 65, and then a year later to 80 places.

The second nursery, based in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, was opened in 2003. The former pre-school catered for 52 children, but the sisters extended the provision to care for 77 registered children.

A year later, they opened Rivacre Academy in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, registered for 100 places, followed by another kindergarten in Latchford in 2007, which is run as a forest school and has 31 places.

The sisters say they believe that the nurseries' success can be attributed to their ability to work closely with staff to ensure that standards and quality are maintained.

'We have remained true to our personal goals for the business and have been fortunate in that we are surrounded by a dedicated and enthusiastic team,' explains Ms Mannering. 'Both Brenda and I are involved with all the nurseries and we visit each setting regularly. We always make sure we are available to our managers to give them advice and reassurance and we also ensure that staff are given the opportunity to visit the other nurseries within the group.'

The sisters hope to expand the business and have plans to open a further three nurseries within the next three years.