We don’t need to tell you that when it comes to strategic direction, nurseries and schools are poles apart. For your new school-based nursery to be a success, your management approach will have to differ from the way you run your school. And with a lot of eyes on this latest childcare expansion initiative, you’ll want to get it right.
Parent communication methods, EYFS assessments and tracking, building the true foundations of learning, and tackling all of the ‘firsts’. There are many aspects to running a successful nursery that differ from outstanding school management.
In this article, we share how to manage a school-based nursery effectively. From practitioner development to the expected level of communication from parents.
We’ll dig into why a nursery setting needs a different approach to thrive.
In this article:
How are school-based nurseries different to schools?
Although school-based nurseries sit within a school, they couldn’t be more different in how they operate day to day.
From funding to philosophy, everything shifts. Unlike schools, nurseries receive funding based on hours attended rather than per-pupil headcount, which means tracking sessions, entitlements, and invoicing parents is a constant juggle, especially when you’re also making sure you stay within statutory ratios.
Then there’s the children themselves. Their needs are immediate, personal and often non-verbal. Progress might look like a child settling without tears, trying a new food or saying “bye” for the first time. Those moments take time, patience and a whole different kind of planning than national curriculum targets.
Parents also expect a ‘home from home’ feel in nursery, which comes with higher emotional expectations and a very different style of communication than they might expect from a school. You’ll also find EYFS recruitment a trickier landscape.
Early years specialists are in short supply and can’t just be swapped in like-for-like from your KS1 team.
At the heart of it, a nursery isn’t a small version of your school. It’s a different setting entirely, with different goals, rhythms and pressures.
Let’s look at the top ways you can manage your new school-based nursery effectively, including if you are leasing the space to an established PVI setting.
How to manage your school-based nursery
Integrating your nursery
To truly make your nursery thrive, it needs to feel like an integral part of your school. Not an add-on tucked away in an unused room.
That means embedding the same ethos, positive working culture and modern management approach across both settings.
Whether it’s your values around inclusion, creativity or community, your nursery should reflect them just as clearly as your KS1 and KS2 classrooms do.
When families walk through the door, they should feel a sense of continuity, from the exceptional parent communication they come to expect, to the warm welcome at drop-off.
There are opportunities for improvement in your current school processes to enhance the nurturing aspect of your school, making it more in line with your new nursery setting.
A consistent tone in communication, shared expectations for behaviour and a unified leadership style all help reinforce that this nursery isn’t separate. It’s simply the start of your school journey, even if that is delivered on your behalf by a PVI nursery.
Nursery parent communication
Communication in nurseries is a whole different ballgame compared to primary schools.
During lockdown, many schools went digital, using online platforms to stay connected with families. But for nurseries, that digital expectation has only grown.
Nursery parents want more than a newsletter or half-term update. They’re trusting you with their child’s very firsts. First steps, first friendships, first time trying new food. They don’t want to miss a moment.
Regular updates (via our award-winning Parent App), complete with photos and videos, help bridge that emotional gap, build trust and allow children to settle in quicker.
But we get it, practitioners already have full plates. That’s why using smart, time-saving communication tools is so important. It means staff can quickly log key moments, meet Ofsted and DfE guidance on child-facing time versus admin, and still offer families rich insight.
Better still, it sets the tone for a strong, collaborative parent partnership right from the start. This also applies if you are leasing the land for PVI settings to operate on your behalf.
Practitioner development
Practitioner development in the early years is essential to retain your excellent practitioners, especially in today’s recruitment climate, where experienced early years specialists are in high demand.
Unlike primary teachers or teaching assistants, nursery practitioners work with a completely different structure. Reflected in their contracts and working hours, as well as the roles they play in early child development.
If you want to keep your team motivated and thriving, ongoing training and clear pathways to progress are key. That means investing in early years CPD that keeps them at the forefront of best practice, giving them confidence in their knowledge and value in their role.
The nursery environment
Creating the right nursery environment within a school setting can be one of the biggest shifts for headteachers. A reception class is often in the middle of the slider bar between play and ‘formal learning’. A nursery shouldn’t be an extension of F1 and F2.
Nursery children aren’t ‘school-ready’, nor should they be encouraged to be! Which is why your space can’t just be a scaled-down version of Key Stage 1.
These little learners need room to explore, play, and discover in their own time, with both indoor and outdoor areas that support open-ended, child-led learning.
If your school-based nursery is based in a traditional school building rather than a specialist provision, adapting classrooms and outdoor spaces can be a challenge.
Parents will be looking for warmth, creativity and flexibility, not table-top activities or static displays.
It’s about showing them, and your leadership team, that real progress in nursery isn’t always written down. It might look like a mud kitchen masterpiece or the first time a child puts on their own coat.
Creating an environment that celebrates those moments is what will truly set your nursery apart.
The admin side of running a nursery
One of the biggest surprises for schools setting up nurseries is just how much admin comes with it. It’s not something your school business manager can simply absorb.
From generating invoices and collecting payments to managing billing cycles and tracking funded hours, nursery admin is a world away from standard school processes.
It’s constant, detailed and often tied to strict funding compliance. Expecting your current systems to stretch that far is risky and could quickly overwhelm your admin team.
That’s where dedicated nursery management software makes all the difference. It automates the heavy lifting, reduces errors and keeps everything in one place.
More importantly, it frees up your new nursery manager to focus on what really matters. Building a nurturing, successful setting right from day one.
EYFS assessment and tracking
EYFS assessments look and feel completely different to those in KS1 and KS2. Progress isn’t measured as formally, it’s about noticing those small but mighty moments that show a child is developing in their own unique way.
Whether it’s sharing a toy for the first time or retelling part of a story, these soft milestones are rich with meaning and must be linked to your chosen EYFS framework to truly reflect learning.
That’s why it’s essential that practitioners have access to software that makes inputting observations quick and simple, so they can spend less time on admin and more time with the children.
With Blossom, managers and school leaders also get a clear, digital overview of how each child is progressing across the setting, and with SEND framework statements built in, you can track and celebrate those crucial small steps too.
SEND and Inclusion
Bringing us nicely onto school-based nursery inclusion and SEND provision.
We know that the newest childcare expansion initiative is expected to offer more support for SEND children. As the average age of SEND diagnosis is 9 years old, it’s not just a likelihood your setting will have children at the start of their diagnosis pathway, it’s a certainty.
Inclusion in a school-based nursery needs careful thought. It can’t just mirror your whole-school approach.
Your provision needs to be set up to spot and support a wide range of needs from the very start. Upskilling your nursery practitioners is crucial, and this should sit comfortably alongside your school’s wider CPD strategy.
Consider where early years training fits into your annual plan and seek out experts in the field. Many offer free webinars, workshops, and practical resources to help your team grow in confidence and knowledge.
Financial planning for your school-based nursery
Your grant usage is specific. When developing your setting, there are dos and don’ts you must follow. Your school-based nursery business case will have considered all of the start-up costs. But there may be a few ongoing costs you need to factor in:
- School-based nursery marketing to ensure spaces are filled
- Staffing cost changes (including recent changes to the National Living Wage, the changes to National Insurance Contribution don’t apply to school settings as they receive relief)
- Early years CPD training costs
- Communication software costs
- New setting maintenance costs
Financial planning in a school-based nursery is a whole new layer of responsibility. Understanding where you’re financially strong (and where you’re not) starts with visibility.
You’ll need to know how many spaces are filled each day, where gaps are coming up, and whether your staffing, resources, and rotas are aligned with income.
With the expansion of government childcare funding, it’s never been more important to make sure that funding actually works for you.
That means tracking entitlements, sessions and invoicing accurately.
Blossom’s business reporting tools give you the insights you need at a glance, so you can confidently forecast, optimise your spending and plan for long-term sustainability without drowning in spreadsheets.
What’s next for your school-based nursery?
Setting up and running a school-based nursery brings a new set of challenges. But with the right tools and support, it can be a powerful extension of your school community and a great partnership with existing PVI settings.
From managing funding and admin to building strong parent partnerships and creating an inclusive, developmentally-appropriate environment, Blossom is designed to make every part of nursery management simpler.
Our team understands the pressures because we’ve lived them, and our software reflects that.
If you’re ready to see how Blossom can support your new nursery to run smoothly and successfully, get in touch for a free demo or chat with one of our team.
We’re here to help you get it right from day one.
Book a Blossom demo
