However successful a nursery is, there inevitably comes a point when it is time to take a step back and look at ways to re-energise the business. For Laura Gentry, proprietor of the established Orchard Day Nurseries in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, the need to bring in fresh thinking became apparent when she recognised her nurseries were losing focus - particularly under the revised EYFS.
At the beginning of this year, a Google search led her to consultancy Daycare Doctor and the expertise of its founder Catriona Nason. Daycare Doctor offers a range of support services designed to get a nursery to where it wants to be - providing anything from advice on employment law to marketing on the internet.
This injection of ideas has led to renewed enthusiasm all round and Orchard Nurseries has gone on to have one of its most successful years to date.
In May its nursery in Royston, Hertfordshire, was graded outstanding by Ofsted and Ms Gentry is now preparing to open the doors of her third site, for 60 children, in the heart of the Cambridgeshire Fens.
'In some ways as a nursery owner you are alone,' she says. 'You feel you have to grapple with all the issues single-handedly and this can be difficult. After the EYFS was revised I felt there were areas of practice and management that I needed to address, and decided that I needed some outside help to deal with them.'
Ms Gentry says that Daycare Doctor wasted no time in visiting the nursery and provided an objective view.
'Catriona pinpointed the strengths as well as the weaknesses,' says Ms Gentry. 'She was very encouraging and reassured me that things really were not as bad as I thought.'
As well as reviewing all aspects of EYFS practice, including child observation and assessment, Ms Nason helped to revisit all the policies and procedures, and the leadership approach. Strong leadership at the Royston nursery was singled out in the outstanding inspection report, along with action plans that result in continuing improvement.
'The collaboration with Catriona has certainly lifted leadership and given everyone fresh enthusiasm,' says Ms Gentry.
Ms Gentry reports that when she originally contacted Daycare Doctor she had been thinking about opening a new nursery, albeit with some trepidation. 'Once we had revisited our practice and business issues, I felt a lot more confident,'
she says. 'The new nursery will open its doors in two weeks time.'
