Nursery Case Presentation
Industry Overview
Market Size
- The market size of the Child Day-Care Centres in the UK was £5.7bn in 2024.
- The market size of the Child Day-Care Centres in the UK has grown at a 0.6% CAGR between 2019 and 2024.
Provider Landscape:
- As of 2024, there were 54,700 childcare providers in the UK made up of: 21,200 group-based providers, 9,700 school-based providers and 23,800 childminders.
- In an article published by Financial times in April 2024, it was estimated that an extra 85,000 new places for infants are needed in England to fulfil the UK government’s childcare expansion package.
Market Consolidation:
The sector is experiencing consolidation, with significant mergers and acquisitions (e.g. Pippa Pop‑ins Nursery Schools and Kingfisher Nursery Group), pointing to a move towards larger, multisite operations.
Entitlements and funding
Expanded Entitlements
- From April 2024, working parents of two-year-olds can access 15 hours of free childcare per week.
- From September 2024, this entitlement extends to 9‑month‑old children, with plans to offer 30 hours by September 2025.
Funding Increases:
Funding rates have risen notably, reducing the reliance on parent-paid hours
- 35% increase for two-year olds
- 13% increase for three and four-years olds between 2023 and 2024
Regulatory Requirements
- Ofsted rating: All daycare providers must register with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills under the appropriate register.
- Background Checks: All staff must undergo Disclosure and Barring Service checks.
- Health and Safety: Providers must ensure premises are safe and suitable for children, including risk assessments and emergency procedures.
- Policies and Procedures: Mandatory implementation of safeguarding policies, including procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse.
- Qualifications: Staff must possess relevant qualifications and undergo regular training, including first aid and safeguarding.
Core Operational & Growth Metrics for Daycare Success
DayCare Case
Daycare Co – Enabling KPI Visibility Across Multiple Centres
Problem Statement: Limited Data Visibility and Strategic Insight
- The company operates multiple daycare centres but lacked the ability to view consolidated or comparable data across locations.
- This absence of centralised visibility made it difficult to analyse overall performance, identify trends, and support effective strategic decision-making.
Our Solution: Automated KPI Dashboard
- We implemented an automated dashboard that consolidates key performance indicators (KPIs) across all locations, providing stakeholders with clear, real-time insights.
- This solution significantly enhanced the organisation’s ability to make informed, data-driven decisions while also eliminating the time previously spent on manual data collection and consolidation.
Daycare Co – Enhancing Capacity Utilization by reducing Overtime Charge
Problem Statement: Ineffective Overtime Management
- The company incurred high overtime costs, which were difficult to monitor in real time due to fragmented payroll data spread across multiple systems.
- This lack of visibility made it challenging for management to identify abnormal overtime patterns, limiting their ability to take timely and appropriate action.
Our Solution: Streamlined Overtime Tracking
- Facing challenges with dispersed overtime data and high OT costs, we delivered a periodic Power BI and excel reports & dashboard that consolidated OT tracking from various sources, provided early warning reports and proactive flagging of upcoming cases.
- This enabled the company to cut excess costs, improve capacity utilization, and gain real-time visibility for proactive management.
Daycare Co – Addressing Revenue Leakage with Accurate Billing
Problem Statement: Unbilled Overages and Revenue Leakage
- Company operates multiple daycare centres and encountered discrepancies in attendance, where children often stayed beyond their designated slots without corresponding billing.
- This led to increased overtime costs as employee hours were extended, and the resulting unbilled overages contributed to revenue leakage.
Our Solution: Comprehensive Reconciliation for Revenue Protection
- Our reconciliation solution tackled revenue leakage by consolidating all relevant data into a comprehensive report, aligning attendance records with billing details and reducing untracked overtime.
- This strengthened financial controls, enabling management to effectively monitor these instances, raise accurate invoices, and minimise revenue loss from previously missed billing opportunities.
Tailored Dashboards
Daycare KPI Dashboard
This dashboard highlights critical operational metrics for daycare centres, including child enrollment trends, attendance rates, and exceptions that require billing or immediate action. By providing real-time insights, it enables administrators to effectively track performance, ensure compliance with industry standards, and make informed decisions to continually enhance service quality.
Financial Reporting & Ratio Analysis Dashboard
This financial dashboard presents a detailed profit and loss statement, complemented by key financial ratios, including profitability, liquidity, and efficiency metrics. Tailored for executives and analysts, it simplifies complex financial data into actionable insights, facilitating strategic planning and performance evaluation. The dashboard offers dynamic calculations at various levels through dropdown functionality, eliminating the need for complex Excel files and enhancing usability.
Empowering transformation
Every business is unique, with its own goals and challenges. At Ruddham Consulting Limited, our mission is to be a trusted partner, supporting your organisation through each stage of growth and transformation.
With deep expertise and hands-on experience, our team acts as both problem solvers and change enablers. We are committed to helping childcare providers become more efficient, agile, and resilient in an increasingly complex environment.
Through targeted process improvements and smart automation tools, we aim to reduce the burden on finance teams, restoring work and life balance while equipping leadership with clear, actionable insights to make more informed decisions.
Today’s presentation showcased just a few examples of how we have added value to day care businesses. These are only starting points, and we are confident that, together, we can unlock even greater opportunities for sustainable success.
Ruddham Consulting Limited
This presentation has been prepared by Ruddham Consulting Limited for informational purposes only. It is intended to share a case study based on specific client experiences and does not constitute professional advice or a recommendation.
This publication contains general information only and Ruddham Consulting Limited is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor.
Ruddham Consulting Limited shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this publication.
