Has anyone set up their own pre-school? I don't know where to start...

[Runoutofideas]

Hi,
I'm in the very initial stages of thinking about setting up a local pre-school. Our area has a shortage of spaces, and those which are available are expensive. I have a teaching assistant qualification and a "teaching and entertaining pre-school children" certificate. I would be doing this in partnership with someone who has a NVQ level 3 qualification.

My question is - How do I get going? I have a hall in mind which has previously been used as a preschool but have not yet investigated its cost and availablity. I know we would need various insurances, but what sort of cost would be involved? Do we need a qualified teacher? Obviously we'd need toys etc and I do have a good understanding of the requirements of the foundation stage. What else am I missing?

Thanks for any pointers....

I would start with your local council early year's unit. Are you thinking of this as a commercial money making venture or a community project?

MOre of a community project - we'd need to make enough to pay ourselves but not much more. I'm hoping we could do it for the cost of the nursery grant, as everywhere locally charges a hefty top up.

Runout have a look at the funding thread over on the nurseries board, as the NEG funding is changing drastically. No top ups allowed.

If the building you have in mind has been used for a similar purpose then you will probably still get permission, however you can check with your council if it still has category D, if not you will need to apply which can be a tedious and costly process. When planning is in place you will then need ofsted registration which can take up to 26 wks, so in effect you will need the building set up ready, all policys and proceedures in place Risk assessments, fire surveys etc before they ofsted will ok it. It may well be costing you week on week before you can have any clients.

The funding varies from LA to LA and is generally a very low hourly cost (£3 ish here) so you will need to figure out your staff:child ratio (for wage bill) and work out how many childen you will be regd for potentially in the space available (think each child has to have 2.5m2 in that age group) but ancillary space isn't counted and you will need 1 loo and hand basin per 10 children. So accurate costing is essential.

On the up side if your area has a shown shortage of spaces on the sustainability survey you may well get a grant for equipment, each LA gets a lump sum to divvy up and they allocate what to do with it. What and if you get depends a lot on what time of year you apply, if you are at the arse end of their allotted money you may well not get much if anything, although you may well be awarded a grant later in the year. Many authorities are pushing providers to spend their allocated grants, as the government have made some pretty hefty cuts and they are concerned that the awards will be clawed back. I would contact your Local Families Information Service who will put you in touch with your areas CDO who will be able to explain how they may be able to help you set up.

Morton Michel is a good company for insurance quotes.

If after youv'e gone through your research and its not cost effective, have you tought about Cildminding with your friend, some areas accredit childminders too so you can still pick up the grant payment, the process is much simpler and generally quicker with lower overheads etc, will also give you flexibility with other age groups.

Atworknotworking - thank you so much for your really informative message.

The building is a scout hut which was previously used as a preschool for up to 30 children at a time. It has 3 child sized toilets and basins as well as adult ones upstairs and a disabled loo and baby change facilities. It is also booked by other groups though so we couldn't have it set up permanently. It would be a case of getting everything out and putting it away ever session, which is what the old pre-school used to do. DD's school use it for after-school club, so I would assume the appropriate permissions are still in place?

The thing I'm not very clear on is the ofsted registration, in a sessionally rented building. Would we really have to set it up and pay rent for up to 6 months without having any children in there?

I have been in touch with the early years dept at the council for advice, so am waiting for a reply from them....

Childminding may seem like a more sensible option, but neither of us have space in our houses to set it up properly. Will keep thinking - any more advice gratefully received.

It is a business so treat it as such. Perhaps I will chuck my towel in at work and set one up as the whole thing seems very poorly organised and run by amateurs.

I wish you luck but you need a business plan, funding and a set of realistic objectives.

If it is still being used for groups and after school club, it will still have cat D, however you will have to check with your local planning dept as each building will have specific times of use applied to it, but on the whole you should be ok.

WRT ofsted, they register each type of provision seperately, again you should be ok if the after school group are registered at the premises also (although some groups are exempt from reg, so have a shufty on ofsted webby to so if they are) Even though you are in a shared building each type of care and each provider will need seperate registration. Each application is treated indipendantly and has a wait time of upto 26 wks, it might be worth chatting to the head scoutie person they may charge you a peppercorn rent for the interim period.

Good Luck

Hello

Any idea what to register as if i only want to provide the 15 hrs or 30 hrs care for 3 to 4 year old (9 to 11.45 and 12 to 3)as well as doing breakfast and after school club (7to 8.30 and then 3.30 to 6.30)
Thanks

You'll need to get the nursery set up ready for the children before ofsted will register you. We recently set up a nursery and it took a month to get the building ready, policies written etc and we then had a 5/6 hr interview and tour with an inspector. It's worth speaking with an early years advisor from your lea to arrange for them to look around the building and spot any potential problems. Ofsted will not register you if there is anything wrong with the learning space.

Oh and you can top up- you just can't call it a top up! It has to be a 'package of additional services '!