Little Elms Daycare Nursery is currently gearing up for the launch of its fourth nursery in Sydenham, south-east London, at the beginning of next year. It has been an exciting three-year period for the family-owned business, which has powered ahead since opening its first site in 2009.
Steady growth in tough times has been fuelled by detailed knowledge of local markets and a commitment to providing a quality of care and learning which the owners, brothers Matthew and Spencer Lancaster, were originally seeking for their own children.
The brothers originally raised the capital for the £1.5m refurbishment of their first site in Beckenham by selling a successful cleaning business. Despite their lack of sector knowledge, their involvement as parents provided the impetus and personal desire to create quality nurseries.
They have researched local markets with meticulous care. Crofton, for example, where the third nursery opened in September, is an area well known to the brothers.
'It is not far from where we grew up and we know the lie of the land very well,' says Matthew. 'Both of my children went to local nurseries in the area, but due to the lack of provision their sessions ended up being split across three different sites. We also knew there was nothing in the locality that was up to our standards.'
The brothers' confidence in their ability to maximise the potential of this locality has been borne out. 'All of the baby spaces were taken within a week of opening in September and we are currently running at 90 per cent occupancy,' says Spencer.
TAKING A LONG VIEW
So far, families have been very impressed with what Little Elms has to offer. All the nurseries are well-designed and equipped, offering extra-curricular activities such as French, Spanish and yoga, to provide added value.
Capital funding from the sale of the brothers' cleaning business has enabled them to invest substantially in refurbishing their nurseries and kitting them out imaginatively.
They have a talent for looking at buildings and visualising ways in which they can be transformed and reconfigured to provide a user-friendly space that is right for children, staff and families. This was highlighted with the spectacular makeover of the first site, where a Victorian house previously used as a doctor's surgery was turned into a spacious nursery complete with an allotment and state-of-the-art stainless steel kitchen.
Matthew Spencer concedes that this kind of vision does not come cheap. 'Refurbishment on this scale represents a considerable outlay, and we don't stint on fixtures and fittings. All of our nurseries are kitted out with Community Playthings furniture, because we feel it is the best and comes with a ten-year guarantee. We are aiming for longevity for each of our sites and we want them to increase in reputation and use, so this investment is well worthwhile.'
Pitching the fees at the right level is key to driving occupancy. Matthew says, 'When we opened in Beckenham we looked at all our competitors in a fiveto ten-mile radius and went straight down the middle. We have to be mindful of the current financial environment - it would be foolish to be the most expensive.'
He adds, 'the important thing is to work with parents and understand local family spending power. So far, we seem to have got it right.'
EXTRA SPECIAL
Little Elms has just begun the recruitment process for nursery number four. Staff vacancies include a manager and deputy manager, and nursery assistants. Altogether it is aiming to recruit around 42 staff.
The owners recognise the importance of building qualified teams and creating the right roles within each of their settings.
In addition to having overall managers and deputies, and room leaders, Little Elms also appoints managers responsible for specific age groups such as babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. This approach was praised by Ofsted as an example of fresh thinking.
Spencer says, 'We feel it is very important to get a balance of experience and acquire skilled staff for all roles, including chefs and maintenance staff.
'We are very passionate about who joins us, and senior management are closely involved in recruitment. Because of the way we are structured - and because we have roles which specialise in age groups - underpinning knowledge of child development among all staff is very strong. This ultimately benefits the way in which we work with parents.'
The brothers' former cleaning business benefited from its own in-house training, and this is something they want to replicate for Little Elms. 'We've just taken on a new member of staff who is an NVQ assessor and she will be helping us to set up an in-house training academy,' says Matthew. 'With the ability to train and keep staff, we can develop our services to keep pace with what parents want and need.'
Both men stress that a view to longevity is their primary aim. 'We are beginning to achieve visibility in the market which is good for our long-term prospects,' says Matthew.
'Our aim is to build solid foundations in every area of our operations. When it comes to staff, we take time for teams to settle in and review how they work best.'
His brother adds, 'The quality of our staff, combined with our environment and the extras we include in our fees, delivers something very special and parents really appreciate this.'
SNAPSHOT
- Little Elms runs three nurseries in south-east London: Beckenham, 85 places; Lee, 40 places; Crofton, 83 places. It will open a fourth nursery in Sydenham at the start of 2012 which, subject to Ofsted, will offer 42 places.
- Two EYPs are employed at its Beckenham nursery and one at Lee. 95 per cent of staff are qualified to Level 3. It employs around 100 staff in total.
- Future plans include setting up an in-house training academy which will operate from the Beckenham site.
