Ringle Rainbow Day Nursery
Setting the building blocks for quality childcare in Kent with the support of Let’s Do Business Finance
Penny Reidy tells Let’s Do Business Finance about her journey starting her new business, Ringle Rainbow Day Nursery, with the help of a Start Up Loan and business support from the NatWest funded women’s Start Up Business Programme, ‘Her Biz’
Realising the need for and importance of an expansion of quality childcare provision in their local community, Penny Reidy and partner Steven have embarked on a business journey to create a day nursery that’s the first of its kind for the area of Ringlestone and Springfield.
With a passion for working with children and her previous experience working in primary schools and business, Penny believes her skills make her idea for a budding business like Ringle Rainbows a recipe for success and change in her community – with work already underway to create the nursery and prepare to open later this year.
Seeing the growing demand for quality childcare not just across the UK but right on their doorstep in their community, the pair are planning to set up shop for a day nursery in a part of what was previously an old church in Ringlestone, but is now being repurposed into a multi-use community centre that will eventually also host mother-and-baby groups, dance, support groups, quizzes and more.
A brand new ‘Forest School’ for Kent
Ringle Rainbow Day Nursery will be a brand new nursery provider for the area – providing play and education for with up to 25 full time places for children aged 2 – 5 years old. Penny, a parent herself, believes her home town is the perfect area for an undertaking like this, with the community spirit of Ringlestone and Springfield ideal for making the idea a success and meeting current and future demand.
She hopes to create a ‘Forest School’ out of Ringle Rainbows – offering something different to other local childcare providers, and a new take on early years learning, Forest Schools have quickly taken hold on the childcare industry in the UK.
“I think parents will appreciate their children having the opportunity to be outside of the classroom, which also has mental health benefits. I want to create a brand that is known for also having a holistic approach, smaller groups, and therefore nurturing and safe.
I want to build this nursery from the start to be as environmentally sustainable as possible, and having regular access to Forest School we can teach the children from a young age to value all aspects of the natural world and understand we can all help build a sustainable future and planet.”
Ideal for an undertaking of a Forest School, Ringle Rainbow Day Nursery will be located close to local woodland, play areas, as well as the local Kent Library, to enable staff and children to experience the local community and learn. The location is perfect for parents, too – close to motorway links for ease of commuting – which Penny hopes will mean that Ringle Rainbow has a positive impact on the local economy by enabling more parents balance between work and childcare.
The smaller capacity of Ringle Rainbow was chosen to allow for children to have an even better experience of early years education, too – creating more one-to-one care and interaction, and more of a community feel.
“Our community is close knit and caring, and this extends into my vision of the proposed Nursery & my belief in our Parish.”
For Penny, as a first time business owner, she saw the gap that needed filling in her local area to provide an increased amount of childcare places to meet demand following a new increase in paid childcare hours for families. Near to the proposed site of Ringle Rainbows is a new housing development, which she believes will add to future demand in the area.
Getting stuck in
Preparing to launch Ringle Rainbow Day Nursey, Penny and Stephen Reidy sought out support for start-up businesses in their area to see what was available to help make their idea a reality. After making contact with Maidstone Borough Council and local business support organisation Let’s Do Business Group, they were also put in touch with the team at Let’s Do Business Finance to develop a plan for securing finance to fund their ambitions of fitting out and launching their idea for the day nursery.
While in touch with Let’s Do Business Group, Penny was invited to participate in the Her Biz Start Up Business workshop programme – a free workshop initiative funded by NatWest to encourage and support aspiring female entrepreneurs in the East Sussex and Kent. Through the workshops, Penny learnt from expert business coach Lisa Young the fundamentals of running a business; from managing finances, creating a marketing plan, and business strategy.
“By taking part in the Her Biz programme I learned new things, and was given lots of useful information and access to resources that have helped with planning my business. The workshop also reinforced knowledge I already had, so it made me feel more confident when launching my business. I also met lovely people, all with different ideas and at different stages in their business planning. Lisa and Helena were very knowledgeable and got everyone involved in the course”
Ready, set – go!
Through the support received from the team at Let’s Do Business Group and skills learnt through the workshop, Penny and Steph were able to put together a detailed plan for the business; including the costs of fitting out the premises, getting the right certifications to launch, and hiring and managing staff in the future.
“Applying for a start up loan through Let’s Do Business Finance was a straightforward process once you have completed your business plan and cash flow. It’s a thorough process which you are guided through. Our business advisor was very knowledgeable and helped tweak our cash flow. It’s also great that you are provided with a post-loan mentor from Let’s Do Business Group, so you can continue to receive further advice and support after receiving the Loan.”
As an official Business Support Partner of the Start-Up-Loan scheme on behalf of the British Business Bank, Let’s Do Business Finance were able to approve finance to the pair to make their dream for Ringle Rainbow a reality – setting them well on their way to open the day nursery in late 2023.
Once up and running, Penny hopes to create a community staple out of Ringle Rainbow Day Nursery – making it at the centre of the community hub at the repurposed community church and hall, with a goal to eventually open more branches in the local area!
