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News

Busy Bees appoints new group chief executive

Busy Bees has appointed a new group chief executive to succeed Simon Irons, who is ...

5 days

People moves

News

Little Pioneers launches work experience for toddlers

Your Co-op Little Pioneers nursery group has launched work experience sessions for toddlers, in partnership ...

6 days

Research

News

Nurtured Childcare acquires three-setting nursery group

Broomhill Nursery, part of Elmore Kindergarten Group, which has been bought by Nurtured Childcare Nurtured ...

1 week

Acquisition

News

Kids Planet acquires Warwickshire nursery

Kids Planet Day Nurseries has bought KCP Nursery in Warwickshire in a deal facilitated by specialist ...

2 weeks

Acquisition

News

Viability concerns as applications open for funded entitlement

The Early Years Alliance has expressed concerns about the longterm viability of the early entitlement ...

2 weeks

Funding

News

Ombudsman tells council to reimburse nursery parent

The local government ombudsman has told Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council to reimburse a parent ...

3 weeks

Funding

News

Nursery group acquires third setting

SADCO Nursery Group has acquired its third setting in a deal facilitated by specialist business ...

3 weeks

Acquisition

News

Melrose Nursery invests in fourth setting

Melrose Nursery has bought Spire View Nursery in Salisbury, bringing its total portfolio up to ...

3 weeks

Acquisition

News

Edinburgh nursery buys playgroup

Outdoor Nursery Edinburgh has acquired The Bees Knees Playgroup in Currie, Midlothian in a deal ...

3 weeks

Acquisition

News

Global Educational Solutions buys Ilford nursery

Global Educational Solutions has bought Tamba Day Nursery in Ilford, Essex, in a deal brokered ...

4 weeks

Acquisition

News

PACEY joins The Coram Group

PACEY, the charity representing representing childminders, has joined The Coram Group.

4 weeks

Strategic partnerships

News

Little Academy buys Bradford setting

Little Academy Day Nursery has bought Rainbow House private day nursery, a Bradford-based nursery which ...

4 weeks

Acquisition

News

Nurseries funded to support service families

Ten childcare settings across the UK have been awarded a share of £300,000 to help ...

4 weeks

Funding

News

Toolkit aims to support transition from early years to school

The Early Years Alliance has launched a toolkit to support early years settings preparing children ...

4 weeks

Training

News

Care group acquires nursery and nursing home

Church Farm Care has acquired Little Wrens Nursery and Preschool and Wren Hall Nursing Home ...

4 weeks

Acquisition

News

Millfield Nurseries makes first acquisition

Millfield Nurseries has taken its first step into the childcare sector with the acquisition of ...

1 month

Acquisition

News

Nursery Elite buys Birmingham settings

Fast-growing early years education provider Nursery Elite (Little Nurseries) has strengthened its footprint in the ...

1 month

Acquisition

News

ICP Educare buys Oxfordshire Nursery Group

ICP Educare has bought Oxfordshire Nurseries in a deal brokered by Redwoods Dowling Kerr.

1 month

Acquisition

News

Closed Swansea nursery re-opens following sale

Nursery operator Ty Enfys has re-opened a nursery setting which closed in 2023, following a ...

1 month

Acquisition

News

MiChild acquires Lancashire nursery

Nursery group MiChild has acquired the premises of former nursery Little Angels in a lease ...

1 month

Acquisition

feature

Representation matters

Stephanie Mensah, co-founder of Bibinee Dolls, explores the importance of diversity in early years education ...

1 month

Wellbeing

feature

Activate the future

We find out how Chalk Nursery Group worked with managed technologies firm Active8 to make ...

1 month

Advertorial

News

Nursery group launches school transition initiative

The Old Station Nursery Group has launched an initiative aimed at supporting children and families ...

1 month

Wellbeing

feature

Formula for effective leadership

Trainer and consultant Samantha Dholakia explores the role played by beliefs and balance in our ...

2 months

Wellbeing

feature

Smooth transfer

Alison King, managing director at Bespoke HR, explains how to maintain staff morale and avoid ...

2 months

Acquisition

News

ICPEducare secures backing for early years buy-and-build strategy

Innervation Capital-backed ICPEducare has secured a loan from OakNorth so it can pursue a buy ...

2 months

Acquisition

News

Nursery welcomes fitness star Joe Wicks

Bright Little Stars Nursery in Barnet welcomed fitness coach and author Joe Wicks for a ...

2 months

Wellbeing

News

Happy Days buys four settings in South of England

Happy Days Nurseries has acquired the Junior Childcare group of settings in the South of ...

2 months

Acquisition

News

More than £65m early years funding remains unspent

More than £65 million in early years entitlement funding was not spent on funded places ...

2 months

Market analysis

News

Kids Planet acquires Cheshire nursery

Kids Planet Day Nurseries has acquired the POD Nursery in Cheshire, in a deal brokered ...

2 months

Acquisition

feature

Confident leadership

Rageena Tahir, director of early years at Fennies, explains the thinking behind the nursery group's ...

2 months

Managers

feature

A strong start

Jenna Caldwell, director of operations at Redwoods Dowling Kerr, reveals the company’s latest childcare M&A ...

2 months

M&A

feature

Celebrate the sector

Purnima Tanuku became executive chair of the National Day Nurseries Association at the end of ...

2 months

People moves

News

NDNA supports petition to exempt nurseries from NI contributions

Karen Richards, chair of the National Day Nurseries Association's Nottinghamshire network, has launched a petition ...

2 months

Funding

News

Campaign group launches to challenge DfE guidance

Early years providers have come together to raise money to challenge the Department for Education’s ...

2 months

Funding

News

Sector condemns Chancellor’s omission of early years

Early years leaders have criticised Chancellor Rachel Reeves' failure to mention the sector in today's ...

2 months

Funding

feature

From manager to owner

Michele Davison talks to NMT editor Charlotte Goddard about her journey from nursery manager to ...

2 months

Managers

News

Childcare costs fall for under-threes in England

Working parents of children under three in England now pay less than half of last ...

2 months

Funding

News

NDNA launches Healthy Body, Happy Me campaign

National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) is launching its annual Healthy Body, Happy Me campaign next ...

2 months

Wellbeing

News

Giglets Education rebrands as ILT Education UK

Educational resources provider Giglets Education has rebranded as ILT Education UK.

2 months

Acquisition

News

Kids Planet buys Perfect Start

Kids Planet Day Nurseries has bought Perfect Start Day Nurseries, a group of eight settings ...

2 months

Acquisition

News

Nurseries set to cut places and raise fees in response to policy changes

Most nurseries are likely to cut the number of three- and four-year old funded places ...

3 months

Funding

News

Leadership roles expand at Back to the Garden Childcare

Nursery group Back to the Garden Childcare, part of the McGoff Group, has expanded the ...

3 months

People moves

News

Call for government to extend funded childcare to migrant families

The government should extend funded childcare to migrant and refugee families, according to a report ...

3 months

Funding

News

New guidance to help nurseries make most of funding rise

The Education Endowment Foundation has published guidance to help nurseries make the most of the ...

3 months

Funding

News

Supervised toothbrushing for children to prevent tooth decay

Nurseries in the most deprived areas of England are to receive government funding to help ...

3 months

Funding

News

Burnley owners acquire Kirkham setting

The owners of a nursery in Burnley have bought Treetots Nursery in Kirkham, Lancashire, in ...

3 months

Acquisition

News

Council votes against plans to remove 150 funded places from PVI sector

Falkirk councillors have voted against proposals to remove 150 funded places from private providers.

3 months

Funding

News

Gloucestershire nursery owner buys three settings in Surrey

The owner of Gooseberry Bush Day Nursery in Gloucestershire has purchased a three-setting pre-school group in ...

3 months

Acquisition

News

Council plans to bring 150 private nursery places in-house

A Scottish council plans to commission 150 fewer funded places from private nurseries in a ...

3 months

Funding

feature

Day Nursery Market Insight 2025: Scotland

Callum Lancaster, business agent – childcare & education at Christie & Co, shares his insight ...

3 months

Market analysis

News

Sector reacts to DfE “cheaper childcare” claim

The early years sector has condemned a Department for Education advert on Facebook which claims ...

3 months

Funding

News

Little Barn Owls acquires West Sussex day nursery

Nursery group Little Barn Owls Nurseries has acquired The Country Mouse Nursery School in Midhurst, ...

3 months

Acquisition

News

Government guidance on extra charges could “seriously threaten sustainability”

Government guidance which aims to prevent childcare providers from what it describes as “overcharging” could ...

3 months

Funding

News

New leadership for NDNA

The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) has appointed a new chief executive as Purnima Tanuku ...

3 months

People moves

News

Happy Days buys two Portsmouth nurseries

Happy Days Nurseries and Pre-Schools has acquired two Portsmouth nurseries in a deal facilitated by ...

3 months

Acquisition

News

Kids Planet acquires Lancashire nursery

Kids Planet Day Nurseries has bought Early Birds nursery in Chorley, expanding the family-run group’s ...

3 months

Acquisition

News

Training provider launches male-only childcare apprenticeship

The Childcare Company has partnered with Male Childcare and Teaching Jobs (MCTJ) to launch an ...

3 months

Recruitment

feature

Business outlook: the year to come

Following the launch of Christie & Co’s Business Outlook report, Nick Brown, head of brokerage ...

3 months

Market analysis

feature

A roller-coaster ride

As we find ourselves in the middle of one of the most significant changes to ...

3 months

M&A

News

NIC rises force nurseries to raise fees by 10%

Increases to National Insurance contributions will force nurseries to raise fees by 10% and put ...

4 months

Funding

News

Partou installs new signs as rebrand nears completion

Nursery provider Partou is set to install new external displays in all 106 UK settings ...

4 months

Acquisition

News

DfE removes fee for overseas qualification checks

Nurseries no longer have to pay £250 to check whether overseas qualifications allow early years ...

4 months

Recruitment

News

Investor buys nursery properties to let to The Old Station Nursery

Commercial property investor and developer The Harkalm Group is acquiring eight nursery properties across the ...

4 months

Acquisition

News

First-time buyer acquires Renfrewshire nursery

First-time buyer AMS Estate has purchased The Gleniffer Nursery in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, through a deal ...

4 months

Acquisition

News

Experienced practitioners to gain Level 3 status from September

Nurseries will be able to count experienced practitioners in the staff:child ratio at Level 3 ...

4 months

Recruitment

News

Government partners with Channel 4 to promote early years

The Department for Education has partnered with Channel 4 to promote the benefits of a ...

4 months

Recruitment

feature

Inspired Education buys two London nurseries

Global schools group Inspired Education has bought Parson’s Green Nursery Schools.

4 months

Acquisition

News

First Friends partners with Hampshire school to open nursery

Nursery group First Friends has opened a setting in partnership with Denmead Infant and Junior ...

4 months

Deals

News

Price of nurseries rose by 7.7% in 2024 according to Christie report

The price of day nurseries increased by 7.7% last year according to specialist business property ...

4 months

Market analysis

News

Former care home operator moves into childcare

A former care home operator has acquired a Grantham day nursery in order to expand ...

5 months

Acquisition

News

Tibeca21 acquires kinderzimmer UK

Tibeca21 Management GmbH, owned by the founders of nursery group KMK kinderzimmer, has acquired British ...

5 months

Acquisition

News

Council appoints LEYF to run three early years centres

Hillingdon Council has appointed charitable childcare social enterprise London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) to deliver ...

5 months

Deals

News

Bright Stars buys two Norwich nurseries

CleverClogs Cringleford Bright Stars Nursery Group has bought a pair of day nurseries in Norwich ...

5 months

Acquisition

News

Public backs PM focus on early education

Half of the UK public think early education should be one of the government's main ...

5 months

Politics & Policy

News

South London nursery acquired by first-time buyer

The Puddleduck Nursery in South London has been bought by first-time buyer Kim Bradley, owner ...

5 months

Acquisition

News

MPs vote against childcare exemption from National Insurance rises

MPs spoke out about the impact of National Insurance rises on nurseries this week as ...

5 months

Funding

News

Dudley hospital nursery sold for first time

Treetops Day Nursery, located in the grounds of Russell Hall Hospital in Dudley, has been ...

5 months

Acquisition

News

The Mulberry Bush nursery group acquires Little Acorns

The Mulberry Bush group of nurseries has acquired Hampshire-based Little Acorns Nurseries, bringing its total ...

5 months

Acquisition

News

Bright Stars acquires two more Scottish nurseries

Nursery group Bright Stars has acquired two day nursery settings in Glasgow trading as Happy ...

5 months

Acquisition

News

Busy Bees partners with Famly to develop bespoke app

Nursery group Busy Bees is working with software platform Famly to develop a Busy Bees ...

6 months

Deals

News

Average childcare fees rose by 9% last year, according to DfE

Average childcare fees for under-twos increased by 9.1% between 2023 and 2024 in England, according ...

6 months

Funding

News

Bright Stars acquires Scottish day nurseries

Nursery group Bright Stars has purchased two day nursery businesses in Hamilton and Clydebank, Glasgow, ...

6 months

Acquisition

News

New funding rates fail to mitigate “crippling” NI increases according to sector

Rises to hourly funding rates do not come close to covering “crippling” and “catastrophic” rises in ...

6 months

Funding

News

Chalk Nursery Group appoints chair and chief executive

London-based investment management firm Downing has appointed Chris Jessop as chair and Sinead Johnson as ...

6 months

People moves

News

MPs debate impact of National Insurance contributions

MPs have spoken up in the House of Commons on the impact of the government’s ...

6 months

Funding

News

Bright Horizons charity opens outdoor space in women’s prison

Bright Horizons Foundation for Children has opened a second play space in the UK's largest ...

6 months

Wellbeing

feature

Gender-inclusive recruitment in early years education: strategies for change

Male nursery team members can enrich the learning environment for younger children. Claudio Sisera head ...

6 months

Recruitment

News

Kindred to expand with new private equity backing

Kindred Nurseries is planning to expand its nursery network to 100 settings with investment from ...

6 months

Acquisition

News

Green Bottoms donates nappies and wipes to support nursery families

Nappy provider and waste management service Green Bottoms has donated 14,000 nappies and 22,000 wipes ...

6 months

Strategic partnerships

News

Oldham nursery sold to Bolton owner

The owner of Zahra Day Nursery in Bolton has acquired Sunny Smiles Day Nursery in ...

6 months

M&A

News

More than £2m in recruitment funding “no longer needed”

More than £2m in government funding earmarked to help nurseries recruit staff will no longer ...

6 months

Recruitment

News

Wales commits to annual childcare funding review

The Welsh government has committed to review the hourly rate paid to childcare providers annually ...

6 months

Funding

News

Call for flexible working drive to boost childcare recruitment

A drive to expand the number of part-time roles and improve flexible working in the ...

6 months

Recruitment

News

KidsKonnect acquires childcare sector training provider

Haarlem, Netherlands-based early years software company KidsKonnect has acquired Blackpool-headquartered childcare sector training provider NoodleNow.

6 months

M&A

News

Cumberland introduces quality scheme for nurseries

Cumberland Council has launched a quality scheme for early years settings and schools to showcase ...

6 months

Wellbeing

News

Nursery group acquires fourth setting

Bumbles Nursery Group has bought Sure Steps Derby Lane Nursery in Liverpool, bringing its growing ...

6 months

Acquisition

feature

What parents look for

Understanding the intricacies of how parents search for and evaluate nurseries can be a gamechanger ...

7 months

Market analysis

News

Happy Days buys Hampshire nursery

Happy Days Nurseries has bought Teddy Bears Nursery School in Hampshire, following a confidential sales ...

7 months

M&A

Category: Categories

Busy Bees appoints new group chief executive

Little Pioneers launches work experience for toddlers

Nurtured Childcare acquires three-setting nursery group

Kids Planet acquires Warwickshire nursery

Viability concerns as applications open for funded entitlement

Ombudsman tells council to reimburse nursery parent

Nursery group acquires third setting

Melrose Nursery invests in fourth setting

Edinburgh nursery buys playgroup

Global Educational Solutions buys Ilford nursery

PACEY joins The Coram Group

Little Academy buys Bradford setting

Nurseries funded to support service families

Toolkit aims to support transition from early years to school

Care group acquires nursery and nursing home

Millfield Nurseries makes first acquisition

Nursery Elite buys Birmingham settings

ICP Educare buys Oxfordshire Nursery Group

Closed Swansea nursery re-opens following sale

MiChild acquires Lancashire nursery

Representation matters

Activate the future

Nursery group launches school transition initiative

Formula for effective leadership

Smooth transfer

ICPEducare secures backing for early years buy-and-build strategy

Nursery welcomes fitness star Joe Wicks

Happy Days buys four settings in South of England

More than £65m early years funding remains unspent

Kids Planet acquires Cheshire nursery

Confident leadership

A strong start

Celebrate the sector

NDNA supports petition to exempt nurseries from NI contributions

Campaign group launches to challenge DfE guidance

Sector condemns Chancellor’s omission of early years

From manager to owner

Childcare costs fall for under-threes in England

NDNA launches Healthy Body, Happy Me campaign

Giglets Education rebrands as ILT Education UK

Kids Planet buys Perfect Start

Nurseries set to cut places and raise fees in response to policy changes

Leadership roles expand at Back to the Garden Childcare

Call for government to extend funded childcare to migrant families

New guidance to help nurseries make most of funding rise

Supervised toothbrushing for children to prevent tooth decay

Burnley owners acquire Kirkham setting

Council votes against plans to remove 150 funded places from PVI sector

Gloucestershire nursery owner buys three settings in Surrey

Council plans to bring 150 private nursery places in-house

Day Nursery Market Insight 2025: Scotland

Sector reacts to DfE “cheaper childcare” claim

Little Barn Owls acquires West Sussex day nursery

Government guidance on extra charges could “seriously threaten sustainability”

New leadership for NDNA

Happy Days buys two Portsmouth nurseries

Kids Planet acquires Lancashire nursery

Training provider launches male-only childcare apprenticeship

Business outlook: the year to come

A roller-coaster ride

NIC rises force nurseries to raise fees by 10%

Partou installs new signs as rebrand nears completion

DfE removes fee for overseas qualification checks

Investor buys nursery properties to let to The Old Station Nursery

First-time buyer acquires Renfrewshire nursery

Experienced practitioners to gain Level 3 status from September

Government partners with Channel 4 to promote early years

SPONSORED CONTENT: Hope offers 25% discount to NMT readers

Inspired Education buys two London nurseries

First Friends partners with Hampshire school to open nursery

Price of nurseries rose by 7.7% in 2024 according to Christie report

Former care home operator moves into childcare

Tibeca21 acquires kinderzimmer UK

Council appoints LEYF to run three early years centres

Bright Stars buys two Norwich nurseries

Public backs PM focus on early education

South London nursery acquired by first-time buyer

MPs vote against childcare exemption from National Insurance rises

Dudley hospital nursery sold for first time