Positive Steps' sixth nursery has been up and running in the thriving county town of Guildford, Surrey since April. Its first challenge is to build occupancy for its 84 registered places.
Nursery manager Claire Nunn says, 'The nursery really has the wow factor and parents love it when they walk through the door, but we need more children to show it to its best advantage. We are working hard to raise awareness about what we offer and are now beginning to get our name known around Guildford. We are delighted that this is resulting in new registrations every day.'
Operations director Michelle Richardson reports that the nursery is on target for numbers. 'We will see a boom in September,' she says. 'We recognise that the business has changed in that nurseries no longer typically get an influx of people signing up for the very next week. There is more choice out there and people plan more in advance. Longer maternity leave means that parents investigate more options before deciding where they want to place their child.'
PROMOTING ITS SERVICE
Positive Steps is confident that it has a premises which offers it maximum scope for development. Formerly open-plan office space, the building is light, airy and spacious.
'We recognised we could create large room areas that are completely self-sufficient with their own facilities,' says Ms Richardson. 'In terms of location it couldn't be better - we are right next to the city centre, but because we are surrounded by tall trees it feels almost as if we are in a forest. The children love it. There is a really peaceful atmosphere.'
Transport links are excellent, with the station and bus stops on its doorstep and ample car parking. There has been no shortage of interested parents beating a path to its door for the four open days the nursery has so far hosted. As part of her role, Claire Nunn has also worked hard to reach the local community, putting the nursery on the radar of local families.
'Our local children's centre has been helpful in supporting us and welcoming us,' says Ms Nunn. 'They signpost families to nurseries including ourselves, and this has been helpful.
'We are also involved with the NCT and promote the nursery at their nearly new sales. We have teamed up with toddler groups, schools and other activity groups to promote the fact we are here. We have flyers which provide information and direct people to our website.'
She adds that it is also vital to build awareness among the town's employers. 'There are a lot of big businesses who can direct staff to our services and we are visiting these to talk about what we offer. I have just met with one large accountancy firm and they will be featuring us in their newsletter to staff.'
IDENTIFYING CUSTOMERS
Having the opportunity to make a success of a brand-new nursery is an exciting challenge for Ms Nunn and she recognises that business success rests with the strength of the team.
A total of six staff, including a deputy manager, two room leaders, a nursery practitioner and a cook make up the close-knit team. 'We are a small team at the moment and we all communicate well. If they are any issues they can be quickly flagged up and dealt with,' she says.
All current staff are at Level 3, but in the future Positive Steps intends to take in less experienced people and train them up. There are opportunities to move around within the group, which helps it to retain high-calibre staff.
According to Ms Richardson, there was a huge response from interested applicants when the nursery opened. 'We are not at our staffing capacity, so we have a lot of CVs on file and hope to get back to people when we are in a position to fill new roles.'
Having been with Positive Steps for ten years and involved in the business development of all the other sites, she is confident its Guildford nursery will fulfil high expectations.
'It's all about understanding the scope of our potential customer base and the different reasons why parents may want to use childcare,' she says. 'Some will want to take advantage of the free entitlement and others may want to give their child the opportunity to be in a social environment. It is not simply about catering for working parents. In understanding the diverse reasons why parents may now choose childcare, we can ensure that our marketing effectively reaches every potential user.'
SNAPSHOT
- Positive Steps has five other nurseries based in Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.
- The Guildford nursery has four main rooms - for babies, toddlers and threeto five-year-olds. It has an office, a family room and staff room.
- Security is a top priority, with CCTV and a coded entry system allowing all parents to enter the building independently.
- All food is prepared freshly on the premises by a dedicated cook. Parents have input into the menus, which rotate on a monthly basis.
