Course description

The complete programme for new nursery founders -built by someone who has opened one. Opening a nursery is the most complex professional undertaking most founders ever attempt. The statutory requirements are extensive. The financial commitments are enormous. The staffing model is more nuanced than any other sector. And the consequences of getting the foundations wrong compound over years. This programme covers everything: market validation and demand analysis, site selection and planning, financial modelling and viability, Ofsted registration, business structure and legal setup, staffing and ratios, curriculum and EYFS, marketing and enrolment, and the operational reality of launch and year one. Every module comes with a comprehensive guide and a professional Excel tool -built to be used live, not to sit in a folder. These include a full nursery viability model pre-loaded with LA funded rates for every authority in England, a staffing and ratio planner, a competitor mapping tool, a funded hours profitability model, and a year one operations dashboard. The programme includes one 90-minute strategy call with Lucy personally -a one-to-one review of your specific situation, scheduled within 30 days of purchase. Lifetime access. All future updates. 14-day refund guarantee.

What's included

✔ Module 1: Is There Really Demand? -Market validation & demand analysis ✔ Module 2: The Wrong Building Can Break You -Site selection & planning ✔ Module 3: Full Doesn't Mean Profitable -Financial modelling & viability ✔ Module 4: Don't Let Registration Delay Your Opening -Regulatory & registration journey ✔ Module 5: The Foundations That Protect Everything -Business structure & legal setup ✔ Module 6: The Hidden Cost of Staffing -Staffing, ratios & HR ✔ Module 7: Compliance Gets You Open. Quality Keeps You Outstanding. -Curriculum, EYFS & quality ✔ Module 8: Empty Places Kill Nurseries -Marketing, enrolment & pricing ✔ Module 9: Surviving Year One -Launch, operations & year one ✔ One 90-minute strategy call with Lucy -scheduled within 30 days ✔ Lifetime access -all future updates included ✔ 14-day refund guarantee -no conditions

Who this is for

 The practitioner

You know early years. You know what Outstanding looks like from the inside. What you do not yet have is the financial model, the legal structure, the lease negotiation skills, or the operational blueprint to make your own setting work commercially. This programme gives you the business side of what you already know the care side of.

The school leader

Adding nursery provision to a school is a significant strategic decision with distinct financial, regulatory and governance complexity. The wrong assumptions made early cost real money. This programme ensures every decision is made with the full picture in front of you.

The business founder

You do not need twenty years in a nursery to open one that works. You need the right tools, the right knowledge, and the discipline to apply them. This programme maps every regulatory, financial, and operational requirement clearly and practically -without jargon.

Meet Your Instructor, Lucy Lewin

I'm Lucy. I'm a nursery owner, a sector strategist, a trainer, a speaker, and the founder of The Profitable Nursery Academy. I opened Little Angels in 2010.  In 2018, I nearly lost everything. Not because the provision was not strong -because the financial foundations were not right. What I found when I finally looked at the numbers properly changed everything. I built this programme from that experience. It is everything I wish I had had before I opened. I've worked with Coram Hempsall's, Childcare Works, and the DfE's Experts and Mentors Programme.

Course Curriculum

11 Chapters · 20 Lessons

  1. 1

    Welcome 💜

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Welcome

  2. 2

    Module 1: Is There Really Demand? -Market validation & demand analysis

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Lesson 1: Assessing Demand

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Module 1 Market Validation Competitor Mapping Tool

  3. 3

    Module 2: The Wrong Building Can Break You -Site selection & planning

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      The Wrong Building Can Break You

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Nursery Feasibility Calculator

  4. 4

    Module 3: Full Doesn't Mean Profitable -Financial modelling & viability

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Full Doesn't Mean Profitable

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Nursery Viability

  5. 5

    Module 4: Don't Let Registration Delay Your Opening -Regulatory & registration journey

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Don't Let Registration Delay Your Opening

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Registration Tracker

  6. 6

    Module 5: The Foundations That Protect Everything -Business structure & legal setup

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      The Foundations That Protect Everything

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Business Structure & Start Up

  7. 7

    Module 6: The Hidden Cost of Staffing -Staffing, ratios & HR

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      The Hidden Cost of Staffing

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Staffing Ratio Planner

  8. 8

    Module 7: Compliance Gets You Open. Quality Keeps You Exceptional. -Curriculum, EYFS & quality

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Compliance Gets You Open. Quality Keeps You Exceptional.

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Curriculum Planner

  9. 9

    Module 8: Empty Places Hurt Nurseries -Marketing, enrolment & pricing

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Empty Places Hurt Nurseries

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Place Planning

  10. 10

    Module 9: Surviving Year One -Launch, operations & year one

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Surviving Year One

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Surviving Year One

  11. 11

    One 90-minute strategy call with Lucy -scheduled within 30 days

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      What you do with it is where it gets real

Frequently asked questions

I have not decided whether to open yet. Is it too early? No. This is exactly the right time. Modules 1 and 3 alone will tell you more about whether your idea is viable than months of Googling. I do not have a finance background. Will the financial modules make sense? Yes. The tools do the calculation. You read the result and make the decision. Every input tells you where to find the data. The financial model is pre-loaded with LA funded rates for every authority in England. I am from outside the sector. Will the early years content go over my head? No. Everything is explained in plain language, with the why before the what. The programme is written for people without an early years background as well as those with one. What does the 90-minute strategy call cover? Whatever is most live for you. Most founders use it to pressure-test their financial model, review a site or lease, or work through the decisions that feel most uncertain. It is your 90 minutes -we use it on what matters most to you. What if it does not work for my setting? There is a 14-day refund guarantee. Work through the first three modules. If you genuinely do not think this is worth your investment, email Lucy and she will return every penny. "You do not need to stay trapped in overwhelm to deliver exceptional early years education. You can build a nursery business that is sustainable, profitable, calm, and deeply values-led."

Start Your Nursery Business Journey Today

Enroll now to access the comprehensive course and take the first step towards building a successful nursery business

£2,500.00

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