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Original poster

Starting own pre-school

31 replies

ShelleyCarly1990 · 21/03/2021 14:58

Hi everyone, I am a qualified teacher with 8 years experience in key stage 1 and early years.
I am thinking of starting my own pre-school from my own home and would love to hear your thoughts/ideas and see if anyone would be interested in this.
I am looking to reach out to parents of children with 3-4 year olds to help prepare them for school. I am looking to provide 1:4 teaching opportunities with a play based approach along side a forest school approach (also a trained forest school leader) . Would anyone find this appealing? And how much would you expect to pay?
This would be different to child minding as it a provided by a qualified teacher.
Would love to hear your ideas/thoughts!
Thanks everyone

OP posts:
Superstardjs · 21/03/2021 15:09

It is obviously different from childminding, as it would be a preschool! Fees are generally high for preschool care, so I would check local fees and see if you could cover costs on what the market rate is - I would not think many people would pay over and above unless they were hoping for hot housing. There is a lot of discrepancy between areas, so you need to find out what is typical for yours.

Mistyminion · 21/03/2021 15:15

This would be different to child minding as it a provided by a qualified teacher

So presumably more expensive than a cm, and more than a preschool? That might limit your market if your in an area that is well supplied with childcare.

Zarinea · 21/03/2021 16:34

The big benefit of preschool over a CM to me is that there's no issues with the provider being on holiday or off sick - how would you work that?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Childcare & nursery
Aroundtheworldin80moves · 21/03/2021 16:40

Will you be providing the funded 15/30hrs?

You would have to have some pretty amazing facilities to make it more desirable than a free school preschool for example... (Mine had access to all the school facilities like gym, music room, library and forest area, indoor and out door classrooms, qualified teachers plus assistants, and a class size of 16... And I didn't pay a penny.)

glitterelf · 21/03/2021 16:40

You need to look at the demand in your specific area. Look at all childcare settings what the fees are too.
I'm assuming you won't be offering the 15 / 30 hrs free funding ?
Will you be doing 9-3 or will you offer flexible hours. Food will you be providing or parents.
Personally if you would be working on your own it wouldn't appeal to me as I'd either choose a nursery / pre school with larger groups or if I wanted a smaller setting I would choose a childminder for the home from home feel.

NellWilsonsWhiteHair · 21/03/2021 16:45

Hmm. On the one hand it sounds good, on the other I think it is still basically childminding (sorry) - unless you are going to suddenly amaze us with the space/resources you have available for this. Part of what preschool offers over cm is loads of space and equipment (including the natural 'equipment' of trees and whatnot- I don't just mean plastic crap!) - less 'either/or', they have the lot.

Our cm was an excellent experienced nursery nurse of 30+ years' experience, the kids did loads of great stuff and benefited (at 1-3) from that provision in a really small family-like group. Ultimately I've still chosen to move my 3yo into a nursery for her preschool year for the 'stuff' and the bigger, busier setting. I def wouldn't pay more than a normal cm fee, sorry. Id just see you as a really good cm, which is true of some and not others.

GreenSlide · 21/03/2021 16:53

For me the point of pre school is to get DS used to a school like setting. So he goes to the school building, teachers are called Miss X or Mrs Y, he has a class of peers and he's gently settled into the school routine so when he starts primary school it won't be a massive shock to the system. I don't think your set up would be what we are looking for.

There might be a gap in the market for summer born children who are going to be held back a year, often the parents of those children say they want an extra year for their child to play before starting formal education.

Hoppythehippo · 21/03/2021 16:59

I’d prefer a much larger peer group than 4 at that age. I’m of the view that preparing for school is about social and personal care skills, nothing academic and nothing that requires a qualified teacher. My personal preference was a charity run preschool that didn’t have a teacher at all but was run by some amazing early years staff. Still covered all the eyfs curriculum, did outdoor type activities, prepared them well for school and it was totally free with their funded hours. I wouldn’t want a childminder or home based care personally but if I did I’d see you as a very well qualified childminder, not a teacher. I wouldn’t pay extra. Sorry!

RandomMess · 21/03/2021 17:04

My childminder was an experienced qualified teacher.

She had lots of part time children from babies upwards, accepted the funding and did an excellent job of doing so many educational things with them.

I sent my DC to pre-school as well on different days so they were used to a more reception like dynamic with lots of other children many of home would be in their classes at school.

So I would register as a childminder and make the pre-school education and funding hours a selling point.

AaronPurr · 21/03/2021 17:09

@Hoppythehippo

I’d prefer a much larger peer group than 4 at that age. I’m of the view that preparing for school is about social and personal care skills, nothing academic and nothing that requires a qualified teacher. My personal preference was a charity run preschool that didn’t have a teacher at all but was run by some amazing early years staff. Still covered all the eyfs curriculum, did outdoor type activities, prepared them well for school and it was totally free with their funded hours. I wouldn’t want a childminder or home based care personally but if I did I’d see you as a very well qualified childminder, not a teacher. I wouldn’t pay extra. Sorry!
This mirrors my views as well. I would see an environment with just 4 children as a huge disadvantage.
insancerre · 21/03/2021 17:14

It would be childminding though
And as 3 and 4 year olds get 15/30 hours I wouldn’t expect to pay anything
How would it be different to any other preschool? All follow the
EYFS
What would happen if you were ill?

Miscarriage39 · 21/03/2021 17:31

Our sons went to a similar pre-school, but there were more children. It was owned by a qualified teacher, but she had up to 12 children and worked along side two other staff (either qualified teachers or early years). It sort of had the best of both worlds, as there were enough children to make it feel like a proper nursery, but numbers and ratios were small enough, that it felt very personal.
The house was relatively large and the children had free roam of the downstairs and the large garden.

Last year, we paid around £60/day for 9-3. Childminding was available for wraparound care at £9/hr. This is in an affluent commuter area. Fees included weekly French, fortnightly clay sessions with an outside teacher and forest school, as well as a cooked lunch and snacks.

There is another similar-ish setting near-by. The owner operates that as a childminders, but she is a qualified teacher and has more educational stuff than many nurseries. I know she is very popular a d charges more than more childminders, but I’m not sure what her fees are.

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 21/03/2021 17:34

As far as Ofsted are concerned, this is childminding. Plenty of childminders are teachers and provide wonderful and enriching settings for preschoolers. It’s not an insult to be called a childminder.

ErleighBird · 21/03/2021 17:47

But you would be delivering the EYFS the same as childminders and other settings?

OverTheRainbow88 · 21/03/2021 18:01

Our pre school is 6.50/hour and voluntary extra 50p a sessions for milk and fruit

Ki0612 · 21/03/2021 18:14

It would be childminding lots of teachers leave teaching and become childminders and provide a pre- school education. So really you need to gauge how much childminders cost in your area. I pay our childminder £35 a day and £12 for aftercare for our eldest. Our childminder also accepts funded hours but we are sending her to a nursery for those to be around her peers before school.

Hoowhoowho · 21/03/2021 18:39

Consider a home Ed setting. There’s one local to me which takes 2-7 year olds and another which takes 5 and 6 year olds as ratios are easier. They run two or three days a week, children can attend as their parents wish and they provide a useful childcare and social function for home educating families.

CushionMountain · 21/03/2021 18:53

As others have said, you would have to be registered as a childminder as there is no other category if you're working from your own home. As such you are only registered for 3 preschool children so that might affect the financial viability for you. All childminders have to follow the EYFS so I'm not sure what you would be offering that is different.

Navigationcentral · 21/03/2021 18:56

This is childminding. No different to a childminder who is catering to the needs of 3-4 year olds. Same EYFS targets to reach in all early years settings. There is nothing you’ve described which to me sets this apart from childminding. For parents who aren’t seeking childminding but seeking a pre school specifically I don’t know why they’d choose this.

RuggeryBuggery · 21/03/2021 18:59

The ratio is not that brilliant (aren’t some nurseries 1:3 or is that just babies?) and I would also see the small peer group as a disadvantage. Would be pot luck if my dc was with kids she got along with
I might be interested if it was a homely setting but on a bigger scale, so with extra staff. Would also give reassurance about cover when someone is sick etc

RuggeryBuggery · 21/03/2021 19:00

And yes to above - same as a good childminder.
Preparing them above and beyond eyfs targets is surely not going to be that helpful as they will go to reception and re do phonics etc. Social skills might be better developed in a larger nursery or pre school

Hoppythehippo · 21/03/2021 19:06

Only babies are 1:3 and legally at age 3 or 4 in a preschool you can have 1:8 or 1:13 if with a qualified teacher.

Lemonlemonlime · 21/03/2021 19:36

It wouldn’t be something I would choose as I’ll be sending my DC to pre school so that they have experience of mixing in a class size group. As a SAHM I wouldn’t see what you are offering as anything over and above what I provide for my DC, whereas a pre school has the all important larger group of children. It sounds like you have the knowledge and resources to be a fantastic childminder though.

Ahbahbahbah · 21/03/2021 19:39

Yeah this is childminding. Plenty of childminders are qualified teachers. So that’s what you need to compare yourself to in terms of setting up a business.

Wowcherarestalkingme · 21/03/2021 19:45

Myself and a couple of teacher friends looked into starting up a nursery a few years ago. It would have included a pre-school room. After doing a lot of research we basically discovered that we would have to run at a loss for a couple of years and then maybe we would break even. Starting a new childcare facility from scratch is much harder than taking over an existing one as so much depends on reputation. If you were to go down the childcare route you would be more likely to earn money.