turning an established nursery into a charitable company

[MrsBlackbird1]

Our local, well established nursery currently run by a government institution looks set to close. Our only hope of keeping it open is to take it on as a charitable company, limited by guarantee. Is there anyone out there who has successfully done this that could offer a group of very daunted parents some advice? We have lots of information regarding how to do it, from for instance companies house, the charities commission, volresource and the pre-school learning alliance but we have very little information regarding pitfalls to avoid, best choices to make and just general support.
thanks

I hope some people who have done this will come along soon.

One method I have used when setting up other types of charity is to have a search on the charity commission's register of charities here for other nurseries, and try getting in touch with them directly and see if they are happy to answer any questions.

if you have any non nursery-specific questiosn about setting up a charity then I may be able to help

thanks tiredfeet we may need to take you up on that kind offer. We have another meeting tonight to gather all our charities and company info together. We are all in a bit of a shock that the institution concerned is pulling the plug in the first place and we haven't really got our heads around it all as yet.

Yes I can imagine it is a lot to take in! I know of other groups of parents that have at least got to the point of thinking about doing this.

very happy to help with any questions

you may also find that there is a local organisation which can help people thinking of setting up charities, which might be of use to you. Some solicitors will give some free legal advice but tread very carefully as in my experience some don't know anything about charity law and just try and bluff their way through it. The charity commission can be quite helpful at answering questions too if you ring their helpline.

I hope the meeting went well?

Hi we've sort of done this, but it could take up to 6 months for you to get registered with ofsted.

You should speak to surestart and try and pull a meeting together with all the heads at surestart and seek advice on what to do.

Whilst it can be a company limited by guarantee (non-profit organisation) I think you need to do other things in order to be a registered charity as well. It doesn't automatically become one.

If surestart aren't helping, speak to your local MP if the demand is there for the nursery.