Demand
Occupancy, enquiries, conversion, waiting lists and local demand.
Business Health Check
Nursery Business Health Check for UK nursery owners.
Find the cause before you start changing things.
You know something needs attention. The harder part is knowing what is actually causing it.
£795Fixed fee
for one nursery settingMulti-site businesses: please ask for a quote.
for one nursery settingMulti-site businesses: please ask for a quote.
VAT: any applicable VAT is confirmed before you agree the work.
Any applicable VAT will be confirmed before you agree the work.
A nursery business health check is a structured commercial and operational review of a single setting, covering demand, money, people, operation, quality and risk, and direction.
A structured review
Look beyond the immediate symptom.
The Business Health Check is a structured commercial and operational review of your nursery. I look at what is working, what is getting in the way and where your attention should go first.
The purpose is not to produce a long list of everything that could be improved. It is to identify what matters.
The £795 fee covers the agreed information review, main business discussion, written Health Check report, prioritised action plan and 30-day follow-up. It is a fixed-scope diagnostic, not an hourly advice call.
What I review
Six parts of the business.
I review these areas together because a problem in one often shows up somewhere else.
Money
Fees, income mix, payroll, margins, cash and debtors.
People
Staffing structure, deployment, management, absence, turnover and agency.
Operation
Room use, capacity, opening hours, processes, systems and management information.
Quality & Risk
Ofsted, safeguarding, compliance, training and areas of operational exposure.
Direction
Whether you want to stabilise, grow, acquire, step back or prepare for sale.
How the review works
I do the groundwork before the main discussion.
Before the main discussion
You complete a short business questionnaire and provide the agreed information needed for the review.
I review this before the main discussion, so the time is spent understanding the business rather than simply collecting information.
The review
I work through the commercial and operational position of the nursery with you, including the numbers, staffing, occupancy, systems, management and the issues currently taking up your time.
I test the immediate symptoms against what is happening across the business.
What you receive
A clear order for action.
The findings separate what needs attention now from work that can wait. No promised financial result, and no change recommended without a reason.
What's working
The parts of the business that should be protected or built upon.
What's getting in the way
The issues constraining performance, profitability or management time.
Act now
Anything requiring immediate attention.
Fix next
The changes most likely to improve performance.
Improve later
Useful improvements that are not currently the main constraint.
- Written Business Health Check report
- Prioritised action plan
- Clear next steps
- 30-day follow-up discussion
The first answer is not always the right one
“My staffing costs are too high.”
The obvious response might be to reduce staffing. But first I need to understand why payroll is high relative to income.
Is the staffing structure wrong, or is occupancy too low for the structure already in place?
Is room capacity being used properly?
Are opening hours affecting deployment?
Are fees and funded hours producing enough revenue?
The right action depends on the cause. The Health Check is designed to find that cause before you start changing things.
Illustrative sample
What an action page could look like.
This example shows the format only. It is not drawn from client work and does not claim a result.
Cash visibility
Build and maintain a 13-week cash view using actual bank movements, expected fee income and known payment dates.
Room performance
Compare occupied hours, fee income and staffing deployment by room before making changes to the rota.
Fees and funded hours
Check whether the current mix of fees, funded hours and additional charges covers the cost of delivering each place.
Management rhythm
Set a short weekly review covering occupancy, payroll, debtors and cash so problems are seen earlier.
The actions in a real report depend on the information reviewed and the position of the individual nursery.
A clear boundary
When the Health Check is not the right service.
The Health Check is a commercial and operational review. It is not the right service if you only need:
- Accounting, tax, legal or employment-law advice.
- A compliance audit, safeguarding assurance or regulatory sign-off.
- A guaranteed financial result or somebody to approve a decision you have already made.
- Implementation work included within the £795 review fee.
I will say so during the free call if your issue needs a different specialist or a separately scoped piece of work. If you already have one defined business question, the £225 Single-Issue Business Review may be enough.
Common questions
Questions nursery owners ask before they book.
What is a Nursery Business Health Check?
A Nursery Business Health Check is a structured commercial and operational review of one nursery setting. I look across demand, money, people, operation, quality and risk, and direction rather than treating one symptom in isolation. The purpose is to identify what needs attention first and what should be checked before you make changes.
How much does the Business Health Check cost?
The Business Health Check costs £795 as a fixed fee for one nursery setting. Multi-site businesses are quoted separately before any work starts. That keeps the fixed fee clear while allowing a wider group review to be scoped properly.
What is included in the £795 fee?
The £795 fee includes the agreed information review, the main business discussion, a written Health Check report, a prioritised action plan and a 30-day follow-up. It is a fixed-scope diagnostic rather than an hourly advice call. The aim is to leave you with a clear order of work, not a long list of observations without priorities.
How long does a Business Health Check take?
We agree the discussion date and report delivery date before you commit, based on the information needed and availability. The review also includes a follow-up discussion 30 days later.
What information do I need to provide?
I agree the information needed for the review before the main discussion. It will normally be enough to examine the relevant occupancy, staffing, fees, cash, management and operational position. I only ask for information that is useful to the agreed review rather than collecting documents for the sake of it.
Can I use the Health Check for more than one nursery?
The £795 fixed fee covers one nursery setting. If you want several settings reviewed, I will agree a separate multi-site scope and quote before work begins. That may involve looking at both group-wide patterns and setting-level differences rather than simply multiplying a one-setting template.
What is the difference between the £225 Single-Issue Review and the £795 Health Check?
Use the £225 review when you can define one specific problem; use the £795 Health Check when the issue is broader or several parts of the business may be connected. The Single-Issue Review stays focused on the question you bring, while the Health Check tests the wider commercial and operational position. I will not recommend the larger review if one focused question is enough.
Do you carry out Business Health Checks outside Kent?
Yes. I am based in Maidstone and work with nursery owners throughout the UK. The review is not limited to Kent and much of the information review and discussion can be handled remotely. If a piece of work genuinely needs a different arrangement, I will agree that before you book.
Know something needs to change?
If you are not sure where to start, that is exactly what the Health Check is for.