Ladybird Private Day Nurseries has taken on eight additional employees and won two awards following support from Business Growth Hub, part of The Growth Company.
The Salford-based business has won plaudits for its work around improving children’s nutrition, encouraging better dental health, and for working with local groups to support positive male role models in children’s lives.
Furthermore, the business offers early years training courses to other local nurseries and childminders, as well as its own employees.
The business approached the Hub, part of The Growth Company, for bespoke support which would help them achieve their growth plans. In addition, the business was keen to build on its excellent record of workforce engagement and motivation - employee turnover at Ladybird Day Nurseries is just 10 per cent, which is considerably lower than the industry average - as the nursery group adjusted to new Government regulations.
The business took up a place on a workshop for childcare companies developed as part of the Hub’s Executive Development Programme. The workshop focused on specific issues, such as the changes to funded childcare, leadership skills and resource planning. They also helped the management team to develop a business plan with staged plans and milestones in place.
The impact has been significant. Since attending the course, Ladybird Day Nurseries has won Best Employer and Small Business of the Year at the 2017 Salford Business Awards. Meanwhile, the business continues to grow too with the addition of eight new employees, including five qualified nursery employees and three apprentices.
Sophie Davidson, business support manager at Ladybird Private Day Nurseries, said: “Everything we do revolves around our clear vision of ‘every child deserves the best start in life’. We quickly established that to deliver this vision we were dependent upon motivated, loyal and passionate people to support us.
“The workshop encouraged me to take a step back from daily operations and think much more strategically about our leadership. It also helped me to evaluate our position, plan for change and adapt how we offer the new Government-funded hours, without compromising our vision.
“We have also introduced a strategy to lead our employees through this period of change and improve our communications so they understand where we are heading as a business.”
Michael Hayes, workforce development advisor at the Hub, added: “This new emphasis on planning has enabled the business to be more targeted with its marketing and, as a result, they have been able to offer places to more children at both their nurseries.
“The extra income from these additional places has also created job opportunities too, and the nurseries have recruited extra employees, all of whom are from the local area.”
Ladybird Day Nurseries now plans to open a third nursery, once the company has found the correct location and a building that can meet the unique combination of requirements a nursery needs.
Sophie has also recently completed the Hub’s employment law masterclass, which has been very beneficial to Ladybird Nurseries due to the UK’s ever-evolving workplace legislation, and is now looking forward to attending courses on digital marketing and social media.
Businesses looking to access specialist support can visit www.businessgrowthhub.com for more information about the organisation’s extensive range of services. This and other Business Growth Hub projects are part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the GM Business Growth Hub project designed to help ambitious SME businesses achieve growth and increase employment in Greater Manchester.