Independent Nursery Business Support

Helping nursery owners build
stronger, smarter businesses.

Your nursery may be full. But is it profitable, controlled and able to run without you?

I help independent nursery owners build the leadership, structure and commercial foundations that let a setting run at a consistently high standard without the owner carrying everything. Better led nurseries are more profitable, more stable and better for children, families and staff.

A full-time Managing Director can cost £80,000 to £90,000 per year, before employer NI, pension, recruitment costs and employment risk. My retained and fractional support gives nursery owners access to senior commercial and operational experience without taking on that full-time cost.
Book my free nursery business review Start with the £495 Health Check

Not sure where to start? The £495 Nursery Business Health Check is the clearest first step. Or read more about what good leadership looks like.

TNB
The Nursery Business
Dominic Scotton
Founder, The Nursery Business

I have sat in the chair nursery owners sit in. I know what it feels like when occupancy looks fine but the bank balance does not.

Every empty placehas a monthly cost
Every overstaffed roomreduces margin
Every missed enquirymay be a lost registration
Every weak manager decisioncomes back to the owner
Occupancy without profitis not success
A busy nurseryis not always a strong nursery
The challenge

The problem is rarely childcare.
It is usually the business behind it.

Most nursery owners care deeply about children, families and staff. That is not usually the problem. The pressure usually sits behind the nursery: occupancy that has stalled, profit that does not match the effort, staffing costs that keep rising, managers who need more commercial support, owners being pulled into every decision, weak enquiry handling, unclear systems and growth plans without enough structure.

I help nursery owners find the pressure points, build stronger leadership and create a setting that runs at a high standard without depending on the owner being there every day. A well-led nursery is not just more profitable. It is a better place for children, families and staff.

01
Profit that does not match the effort
Revenue looks reasonable. The bank balance does not reflect it. Staffing costs, fee gaps and cost drift are eating the margin quietly.
02
Occupancy that has stalled
The rooms are not full and you are not sure exactly why. Every missed enquiry, slow follow-up or weak visit process can cost you a registration.
03
Managers who need commercial support
Good people in the right roles, but no commercial framework. Every difficult decision still comes back to the owner.
04
Growth without structure
A second setting, more staff, a bigger premises. Growth pursued without the operational infrastructure to support it reliably.
About

I have run the kind of businesses I now advise.

Dominic Scotton, founder of The Nursery Business
Dominic ScottonFounder, The Nursery Business
Connect on LinkedIn
Dominic Scotton
Founder, The Nursery Business Consultancy

I have worked across nursery operations, safeguarding, Ofsted preparation, staffing, finance, parent complaints, growth and governance. I have led multi-site nursery operations, managed £6M+ revenue, improved occupancy, controlled staffing costs and supported teams through inspections, staffing challenges and commercial pressure.

When I advise you, it comes from having sat in the chair, not from standing outside the sector looking in. This is not theory from a qualification and a PowerPoint. It is practical nursery business experience.

I have seen what happens when a nursery is well led from the top. The quality is better, the team is stronger, the parents are more loyal and the business performs. These things are connected.

Based in the UK, working remotely with nursery owners nationally and in person by agreement.

£6M+
Revenue managed across multi-site operations
Strong EBITDA
Performance delivered through cost and occupancy discipline
120+
Staff led across nursery settings
20+
Years in senior operations and leadership
  • Operations Manager, Bright Stars Nursery Group, 5 settings, Kent
  • CEO, Repton Community Trust, regulatory turnaround, £135K funding secured
  • Operations Director, Pennies World Ltd, £4.5M, grew from 1 to 4 sites over 9 years
  • Non-Executive Director, Pennies World Ltd
  • Designated Safeguarding Lead, Level 3, adults and children
What good really looks like

Building outstanding nursery settings through strong leadership, clear values and a team that knows what it is doing and why.

The best nurseries I have worked with have one thing in common. The owner and leadership team are completely clear about what they stand for, how they want children to experience their setting and what kind of environment they are building for families and staff.

That clarity does not happen by accident. It comes from strong leadership, consistent guidance and a team that is supported well enough to deliver it every day.

When the leadership structure is right, the ethos runs through everything. Children feel it. Parents trust it. Staff stay because of it. And the business reflects it in its reputation, its occupancy and its stability.

For children

A well-led setting gives children consistency, safety and high-quality care. Strong operational foundations mean the team can focus on what matters most.

For families

Parents choose nurseries based on trust. That trust is built through clear communication, consistent quality and the confidence that comes from a setting with real leadership behind it.

For your team

Staff stay in well-led nurseries. Clear roles, proper support, strong management and a culture people want to work in. That reduces recruitment cost and improves quality at the same time.

For the owner

A setting built on strong leadership and a clear ethos runs better, retains more families, attracts better staff and performs more consistently. The commercial results follow the quality.

I do not get drawn into day-to-day childcare delivery. The expertise for that is already in your team. My role is to build the leadership structure, management layer and operational foundations that let your team deliver outstanding childcare consistently, without the owner being the answer to every question.

This is for you if

Independent nursery owners who are ready to look properly at the business.

✓
You own 1 to 30 nursery settings
✓
Your occupancy looks okay but profit feels too low
✓
You are still involved in too many daily decisions
✓
Your manager needs more commercial support
✓
Staffing costs keep eating into margin
✓
You want to grow but the business is not ready
✓
You need senior leadership without a full-time hire
✓
You want direct commercial challenge, not reassurance
Contact me when

Any of this sounds familiar.

You do not need to have everything worked out. You may just know that something is not working properly.

Book my free nursery business review
  • Your occupancy is decent but profit is not
  • You are still making too many daily decisions
  • Your manager needs stronger commercial support
  • Staffing costs feel too high for the income coming in
  • Enquiries are coming in but not converting to registrations
  • You want to grow but the structure is not ready
  • You need senior nursery leadership without hiring full-time
  • You want someone to challenge the numbers, not just reassure you
Start here

Two ways to begin. Everything else follows from there.

You do not need to pick from a long list of services today. Almost every client starts in one of two places, and the right next step becomes clear once we have spoken.

Always free
Free Nursery Business Review

A short call to understand the main issue and decide whether I can help. No obligation.

£0
Book my free nursery business review
Start here
Nursery Business Health Check

A focused commercial review of your nursery's performance: occupancy, staffing, fees, enquiry handling and leadership structure. Written findings and your top 5 priorities.

£495
fixed fee. 10 working days.
Book my Health Check

Prefer to see the full price list first? Jump to full pricing.

The clearest first paid step

Start with the £495 Nursery Business Health Check

This is the best starting point if you know something needs to improve but you are not sure where to begin.

It is not a generic report. It is a commercial review of how your nursery is actually working.

£495fixed fee. Written findings within 10 working days.
Book your £495 Health Check Or book a free call first
What is included
  • A 60-minute structured call
  • Review of key documents and information you supply
  • Occupancy, fees and staffing review
  • Enquiry and conversion review
  • Leadership and accountability review
  • Written findings
  • Your top 5 priorities ranked by urgency and financial impact
  • A follow-up call to agree next steps
What you get
  • A clear view of where money may be leaking
  • Practical actions you can take quickly
  • A better understanding of your commercial risks
  • Clarity on whether you need deeper support
  • An honest view from someone who has run nursery businesses

Most owners who complete the Health Check either act on the findings themselves or move into a full audit, strategy day or retained support. The report gives you a clear picture of what comes next.

Just bought a nursery?

You have bought a nursery. Now what?

Buying a nursery is a big step. Whether it is your first setting or an addition to a growing group, the early weeks matter. You have inherited a team, a parent base, a set of numbers and a compliance position you may not fully understand yet. This package helps you take control quickly and confidently.

What the New Owner Package covers
  • 1A full review of what you have actually acquired. The numbers, the occupancy, the staffing and the financial position.
  • 2A clear picture of your compliance and safeguarding position, and any immediate risks that need attention.
  • 3An honest assessment of the team, the leadership and where the strengths and gaps are.
  • 4An understanding of your parent base, your reputation locally and your enquiry pipeline.
  • 5A first 90-day plan. What to fix first, what to protect and what to leave alone.
  • 6Ongoing support through the transition, so you are never making the big early decisions alone.
Enquire about the New Owner Package
Who it is for

You have just completed on a nursery purchase, or you are about to.

You are a first-time owner and you want experienced support from day one.

You are an experienced operator adding a setting and you want it stabilised quickly.

You want to protect your investment and get control of the business fast.

From £2,500
Fixed project, or fractional support through your first three months
Please note: This package is for owners who have already bought or already committed to buy. It is not due diligence or acquisition advice for a purchase decision. It is about taking control of a business you are committed to.
Services

Ways to work together.

Led by Dominic Scotton, The Nursery Business gives independent owners access to senior leadership, governance and commercial support without the cost of a full-time executive appointment. The childcare expertise is already in your team. My job is to make sure the business and leadership around it is strong enough to protect and grow it.

01

Fractional MD

MD-level leadership, part-time

Full Managing Director leadership without the full-time salary. I embed into your business, make real decisions and drive commercial performance forward.

  • Commercial strategy and execution
  • P&L ownership and financial oversight
  • Leadership structure and accountability
  • Owner support and decision-making
From £4,500 per month
Read about fractional director support →
02

Fractional Ops Director

Operational grip across your settings

Operational leadership across nursery performance, people, systems and compliance. I build the structure that lets your business run without you in the middle of everything.

  • Multi-site operational structure
  • Manager support and accountability
  • KPI tracking and occupancy review
  • Staffing, compliance and quality
From £2,750 per month
Read about fractional director support →
03

Business Consultancy

Targeted work, clear outcomes

Fixed-scope work with clear deliverables. Nursery Business Health Checks, audits, strategy days and project support for owners who need a defined piece of commercial or operational work done properly.

  • £495 Nursery Business Health Check
  • Full nursery business audit from £1,250
  • Strategy days from £750
  • Project work on application
Health Check £495. Audit from £1,250.
04

Non-Executive Director

Independent governance and board-level support

I sit on your board or advisory panel as an independent NED, bringing commercial, operational and sector experience. I provide challenge, strategic oversight and governance support without the conflicts of day-to-day management.

Well suited to owners preparing for growth, planning investment, professionalising governance or who simply want an experienced independent voice at the table.

  • Attendance at board or leadership meetings
  • Independent challenge and strategic oversight
  • Commercial and operational governance input
  • Support through growth, change or investment planning
From £750 per month
A note on HR and employment: Where employment law advice is required, I work alongside your HR provider or employment law adviser. My role is to support structure, process, leadership and implementation.
Owner coaching and support

Running a nursery can be lonely. You do not have to carry it alone.

Most nursery owners have nobody to talk to who actually understands the pressure. Staff turn to you. Parents turn to you. The bank balance is your problem alone at 11pm. Owner coaching gives you a regular, confidential space to think clearly, work through decisions and lead with more confidence, from someone who has sat exactly where you sit.

What owner coaching gives you
  • 1A confidential, regular space to think clearly away from the noise of the business.
  • 2Someone to challenge your thinking honestly, not just agree with you.
  • 3Support working through real decisions: staffing, growth, conflict, money, direction.
  • 4Commercial accountability. Someone checking in on what you said you would do.
  • 5A sounding board from someone who has actually run nursery businesses, not a generalist coach.
Enquire about owner coaching
Who it is for

You are the owner and there is nobody else in the business you can be fully honest with.

You are making big decisions alone and want a second, experienced perspective.

You want ongoing personal support, not just a one-off review of the business.

You want to lead with more confidence and less second-guessing.

From £650 per month
Flexible format, typically two sessions a month with support in between
How this differs from advisory: Coaching is personal and confidential, focused on you as the owner and leader. Advisory work is focused on the business itself. Many owners use both alongside each other.
Why not just hire a full-time MD?

The comparison that matters.

Full-time Managing Director
Employed MD
£80,000 to £90,000 per year
  • Plus employer NI (approx. £10,000 or more)
  • Plus pension contributions
  • Plus recruitment fees (typically £8,000 to £15,000)
  • Plus onboarding time of 3 to 6 months
  • Plus employment risk and notice periods
  • Full-time commitment, even in quieter periods
The Nursery Business
Fractional MD Support
From £4,500 per month
  • Senior MD-level thinking in your business
  • No employer NI or pension cost
  • No recruitment fee
  • No notice period or employment risk
  • Start within days, not months
  • Scale up or down as the business needs

For many independent nursery owners, the cost of a full-time MD is too much too soon. Fractional support gives you access to senior nursery business experience at a lower monthly cost and with more flexibility. You get the thinking, challenge and structure without immediately adding another senior full-time salary.

You may not need a full-time MD. But you may need MD-level thinking inside the business. That is the whole offer.

Full pricing

Everything available, once we have spoken.

Most owners start with the free review or the £495 Health Check. Below is everything else, split into one-off project work and ongoing monthly support, so you can see at a glance what fits.

One-off project work
Nursery Business Audit£1,250–£2,500
New Owner PackageFrom £2,500
Strategy Day£750–£950 per day
Ongoing monthly support
Owner CoachingFrom £650 per month
Non-Executive DirectorFrom £750 per month
Retained Advisory SupportFrom £1,500 per month
Fractional Operations DirectorFrom £2,750 per month
Fractional Managing DirectorFrom £4,500 per month
Fractional MD Plus£6,500–£7,500 per month

Every one of these grows out of a conversation. You will never be sold a service you have not discussed first. Full descriptions of each are in the services section above.

All fees are exclusive of VAT and reasonable expenses. A tailored proposal is provided after your free review.

Real nursery business problems

Work I help with. Outcomes that matter.

All examples are anonymised and representative of the type of work I carry out.

Profitability review
Occupancy looked healthy. Profit was weaker than expected.
What I reviewed
Staffing patterns, room use, fee structure, enquiry conversion and cost control.
Outcome: the owner could see where margin was being lost and what needed to change first.
Owner dependency
The owner was covering management, HR, compliance, finance and daily operations.
What I changed
Role clarity, reporting structure, decision-making routes and manager accountability.
Outcome: the nursery became less dependent on the owner being involved in every daily decision.
Occupancy and enquiry conversion
Enquiries were coming in. Not enough were becoming visits or registrations.
What I reviewed
Enquiry handling, follow-up process, parent communication, CRM use and accountability.
Outcome: the nursery had a clearer process for tracking enquiries and improving conversion.
Staffing costs
Staffing costs were reducing profit, even when occupancy looked stable.
What I reviewed
Rotas, room deployment, ratios, agency use, occupancy patterns and management controls.
Outcome: the owner had a clearer staffing model linked to income, not guesswork.
As a recently launched consultancy, I am building public case studies. If you would like to speak with someone I have worked with, I am happy to arrange an introduction.
Enquiry tracking and CRM support

The issue is not usually the tool.
It is whether anyone owns the process.

Many nurseries already receive enquiries through a CRM, website form, email, phone call or parent management system. A CRM only works if the team uses it properly. I help owners turn enquiry data into action, so they can see what is working, what is being missed and where income is being lost.

Book my free nursery business review

I help nursery owners review:

  • Where enquiries come from and how quickly parents are contacted
  • Whether follow-ups are happening consistently
  • How visits are booked and what happens before and after
  • How lost enquiries are recorded and reviewed
  • How many enquiries convert into registrations
  • Who is accountable for each stage of the process
Free tools

Four free tools for nursery owners

Practical tools you can use right now. Each takes a few minutes, runs in your browser and stores nothing. No sign-up, no email required.

Compliance

Nursery Compliance Checker

A broad five minute audit covering safeguarding, leadership, premises and documentation. For staffing ratios specifically, use the calculator alongside it.

Open the compliance checker
Staffing

Daily Staffing Ratio Calculator

A working tool for today's rota. Enter your children and staff room by room and it tells you straight away if you are correctly staffed for the session.

Open the ratio calculator
Money

Profit & Cash Flow Checker

Enter your numbers and get a 13 week cash forecast, break even occupancy, a wage cost check against sector benchmarks and profit by age band.

Open the profit checker
Fees

Fee Increase Calculator

See what a fee rise is actually worth, and how many families could leave before it costs you money. Four numbers, two minutes.

Open the fee calculator
Common questions

Straight answers before you get in touch.

Do I need to commit to a retainer?
No. Most owners start with the £495 Nursery Business Health Check or a strategy day. The retainer is only for owners who want ongoing senior support, and only when it makes commercial sense.
Is this only for struggling nurseries?
No. Many nurseries are busy and full but still not as profitable as they should be. The issue is often owner dependency or a lack of commercial structure, not poor performance.
Do you replace my manager?
No. I support the owner and leadership team, build structure and improve accountability. I work alongside your existing people, not instead of them.
Do you give HR or employment law advice?
No. Where employment law advice is required, I work alongside your HR provider or employment law adviser. My role is to support structure, process, leadership and implementation.
How quickly can we start?
After the initial free call, the usual first step is the £495 Nursery Business Health Check, which is delivered within 10 working days. From there we agree what comes next.
What size nursery do you work with?
Independent owners, single settings and multi-site groups of up to 30 settings. This is where I can make the biggest commercial difference.
I have just bought a nursery. Can you help me take control of it?
Yes. The New Owner Package is built for exactly this. It gives you a full picture of what you have acquired, an honest assessment of the team and compliance position, and a clear 90-day plan. It is for owners who have already bought or committed to buy, not due diligence for a purchase decision.
What is owner coaching and how is it different from advisory?
Coaching is personal and confidential. It is about you as the owner and leader, not just the business. It gives you a regular space to think clearly, work through decisions and lead with more confidence. Advisory is more focused on the business itself. Many owners use both.
What does a Non-Executive Director actually do?
A NED sits on your board or advisory panel as an independent voice. I attend meetings, ask the hard questions, provide strategic challenge and bring commercial and operational perspective without being involved in day-to-day management. It is governance support, not operational delivery.
Do you work remotely or in person?
Both. Most advisory work is done remotely. For deeper engagements I visit in person. I am based in the UK and work with nursery owners nationally.
Ready to look properly?

Bring one problem.
I will tell you what I would look at first.

You do not need to have everything ready. You may just know that something is not working properly. That could be profit, occupancy, staffing, leadership, parent debt, enquiry conversion or growth planning.

Book a free review and we can decide whether the £495 Nursery Business Health Check, an audit, a strategy day or retained support is the right next step.

Book my free nursery business review
  • A free review call
  • The £495 Nursery Business Health Check
  • A deeper audit
  • A strategy day
  • Retained or fractional support
Email
hello@nurserybusiness.co.uk
Phone
07703 025601

Ready to look properly at your nursery business?

Tell me what is putting pressure on the business. I will review your message and come back to you with the best next step.

I aim to respond within one working day. Your details are never shared.