Opening an early years or out of school setting

Day nurseries 

Day nurseries usually care for children from birth to five years between 8:00am and 6:00pm each weekday and are open all year round. Some provide care before and after school and in the school holidays.

Pre-school playgroups

Mainly care for children aged two to five years old. They usually offer half day sessions, term time only, although some may offer extended hours. They may also offer before and after school childcare and holiday care for school aged children. 

Out of School Care 

Such as before and after school clubs that wraparound a school day and provide care during the school holidays. This type of provision can be run by schools or by private providers either on a school site or on other premises such as village halls, private nurseries or by Childminders. 

As rewarding a career in childcare is, there is a lot to consider in providing high quality education and care for children as well as ensuring that your business is successful. To make sure this is the right path for you, here are some things to consider.

Start by researching the need 

Assess what the demand for new childcare provision may be. You may find the childcare sufficiency pages on the Worcestershire County Council website useful to find out more about levels of supply and demand within each district of Worcestershire. Childcare Sufficiency

You may also find it useful to complete some market research and find out what type of childcare is already operating in the area you are considering setting up new childcare. Check out the childcare search page on the WCC website, where you can do a postcode search to find out the types of providers operating in that area.  

Find childcare in your area

Business planning and financial viability

Develop a business plan and consider your business legal structure. Visit the following link for advice on setting up a business. 

• Advice on setting up a business (gov.uk)

Worcestershire County Council is dedicated to helping local businesses develop and thrive. From local start-ups to high-growth enterprises. To find out more about the support available to businesses across the County, visit the Support for Businesses pages on Worcestershire County Council website.  

You can register with your Local Authority to claim funding to provide early years education places for 3 and 4 year olds and eligible 2 year olds. For more information visit the Nursery Education Funding (NEF) pages on the WCC website.

Locating suitable premises 

Childcare may be provided on domestic premises (such as the home of a childminder) or non-domestic premises (such as a pre-school in a community centre, a nursery on a school site or a purpose built building). The premises that you operate from must comply with Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requirements and or the requirements of the Childcare Register. Premises must be fit for purpose in a good state of repair, safe and secure and suitable for the age of children being cared for. 

Other requirements for running a childcare business

You may also have to contact the following agencies as well as consider other legal requirements in relation to running your childcare business. The following is not an exhaustive list but should include:

• fire safety
• planning permission
• Information Commissioners Office (ICO)
• Food Standards Agency
• public liability and employers' liability insurance providers
• HM Revenue and Customs
• health and safety
• lease or premises agreement
• employing staff

Most providers caring for children under 8 years old for more than 2 hours a day in England must register with Ofsted. 

For more information on the Ofsted registration process for nurseries and other day care such as pre schools and after school or holiday provision on non-domestic premises, see:

•  Providing Childcare services in England

If you intend to care for children aged from birth to the 31 August after their fifth birthday, you will need to register on the Early Years Register. 

You will need to meet all the safeguarding and welfare and learning and development requirements of the Statutory requirements for the early years foundation stage (EYFS). 

If you intend to care for children from 1 September after the child’s fifth birthday, up until their eighth birthday, you will need to register on the Compulsory part of the Childcare Register 

If you intend to care for children aged 8 and over, or if you are choosing to register voluntarily (for example a sports coaching club) you can join the Voluntary part of the Childcare Register 

Once you have joined the Childcare Register, you must meet the register requirements. 

To find out more about the requirements to register with Ofsted, visit:

•  Register with Ofsted for childminders and childcare providers

Schools intending to provide education or childcare for children aged 2 years and over do not need to register, as long as at least one of those children is a pupil at the school. See:

• Registering school based childcare provision

Before and after school care and holiday provision

Settings that solely provide out of school care, will need to ensure that they join the right register depending on the ages of children they care for. 

If settings care for children from reception age and younger, you will need to join the Early Years Register.

You will need to meet all of the safeguarding and welfare requirements (section 3) of the Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework - GOV.UK.

Before and after school and holiday provision that provide care for children who normally attend reception (or older) class,  during the school day do not need to meet or be guided by the learning and development requirements set out in section 1 and 2 of the EYFS. 

However, settings providing this type of wraparound care for children younger than those in the reception class age range should continue to be guided by, but do not have to meet the learning and development and assessment requirements. 

If settings care for children from 1 September after the child’s fifth birthday (year one) up until their eighth birthday, you will need to join the Compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

If settings are caring for children aged 8 or over or are choosing to register voluntarily perhaps because you are exempt from registration, may join the Voluntary part of the Childcare Register. 

Once you have joined either part of the Childcare Register, you must meet the register requirements. It is important that out of school club providers realise that requirements for staffing on the voluntary childcare register is different to the compulsory part for the childcare register, so if you plan to join this make sure you can meet these requirements. 

For information on when registration is not required visit:

• Registration exemptions for childcare and childminder providers

We provide a wide range of training courses specifically designed for early years and childcare providers, see:

• early years training pages 

The Early Years Toolkit is a range of useful resources to support quality improvement and the delivery of the EYFS. See our resources:

• The Early Years Toolkit

The Department For Education (DfE) have developed the Help for early years providers webpage which provides guidance for people who work in early years.

The Early Years team provides support to newly registered childcare providers across Worcestershire. We can also offer support and advice pre -registration to support you through the Ofsted registration process. 

• Register with Ofsted: Childminders and childcare providers (gov.uk)

For more information on the support available, contact us on:

• phone: 01905 844048
• email at eycc@worcestershire.gov.uk