Modernising their administration system: Polly Anna’s Day Nursery Case Study

Polly Anna’s Nursery found that their former nursery management system had been left behind with the introduction of new procedures and practices, particularly the changes to the Early Years Free Entitlement. After researching the market, they realised that Abacus offered exactly what they wanted and more.

Equipped with a modern, time-saving administration system, invoicing demanded considerably less time, even being completed whilst on holiday in Australia!

Overview: Polly Anna’s Nursery is a 48 place setting based in the suburban area of York in North Yorkshire. The nursery was founded in October 1997 by Ken McArthur and his daughter Helen, when they saw an opportunity to provide childcare as a family business, utilising Helen’s talents in childcare and Ken’s talents in business management.

Possessing a strong belief in family and family values, Polly Anna’s works closely with parents to offer the highest standard of quality childcare. This is clearly demonstrated by their Quality Assurance Award, staff training and qualifications, and the nursery being led by a Manager with a 1st Class Honours Degree in Early Years Leadership, who has also achieved Early Years Qualified Status.

Problem: The original database Polly Anna’s used for recording children’s details and attendance quickly became outdated by changes, not only in their procedures and practices, but the ability to comply with the administrational management of free hours of early years.

Solution: After considering the options of updating their original system, Ken realised that Parenta’s Abacus Management software had everything they were looking for, as well as being developed for legislation requirements and new technologies.

The convenience from completing invoicing remotely is particularly favourable with Nursery owner Ken McArthur, “One advantage over many other nursery management software systems is the ability to access our data anywhere in the world – I’ve even done my Invoicing whilst on holiday in Australia!”

“Another issue for us was the storage of such vital and confidential information; having it remotely stored gave us added assurance in case anything went wrong with our equipment.”

Would you like to see how Abacus can significantly reduce the time you spend on administration? Discover the benefits of using Abacus and book an online demonstration via our nursery management software page.

The Code of Practice on the free entitlement to nursery education will be implemented from September, the Government has confirmed, despite pre-election promises by the Conservatives to suspend it.

The news will come as a blow to some nursery owners who were hoping the Tories would fulfil their pledge to postpone the Code and allow settings to charge top-up fees.

A Government spokesperson said, ‘The new Code of Practice will come into force in September, to ensure that local authorities are working to a clear common framework in implementing the extension to 15 hours. However, we will be looking to streamline this guidance next year.’

When asked about top-up fees, the spokesperson said that primary legislation required local authorities to secure nursery education free of charge.

The Government also announced that the Early Years Single Funding Formula is to be made statutory from April, but a requirement has been added that all local formulas must include a deprivation supplement, which may eventually become a Pupil Premium for the early years.

A consultation on the best way to operate a Pupil Premium for school-aged children, including what deprivation indicator should be used, was launched on Monday by education secretary Michael Gove and children’s minister Sarah Teather. The Pupil Premium is aimed at helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds to improve their school performance.

The consultation also asks whether the policy of funding at least 90 per cent of a local authority’s three-year-old population should be changed to one based on actual take-up of free entitlement places.

A Government spokesperson said, ‘We think it is right that funding should based on actual numbers of pupils and so we are consulting on this issue.’

The National Day Nurseries Association stressed that local authorities would need to have an effective formula in place before April 2011, as there was still a lot of uncertainty around funding, with many nurseries reporting that funding for the free entitlement was not at a sustainable level.

Chief executive Purnima Tanuku said, ‘While it is fantastic that parents have access to the free entitlement, it is not free to a large proportion of nurseries who have to subsidise the cost of delivery and it can be a direct threat to their sustainability. Sixty per cent of providers report that funding for free sessions does not cover their costs.’

Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said, ‘Providers in all sectors of childcare provision will welcome the certainty afforded by today’s announcement that the coalition government will press ahead with the Early Years Single Funding Formula from April. 4Children has always supported the principle of transparency and consistency in early years funding.

‘What is really important is that children and families have access to high-quality, affordable early education and care. We believe that in the longer term, a single funding formula will support this aim.’

To help nurseries across the UK adjust to the free entitlement changes in September easier, we are currently running a promotion for our Abacus nursery management software.

How is your childcare setting adapting to the free entitlement changes? Do you feel there is enough funding available to cover the cost of provision? Start a discussion below, by sharing your thoughts and ideas about the issues nurseries face with free entitlement changes.

Source: Socato

As with any typical nursery, the excessive paperwork and administration was proving too much for one person trying to create a quality service.

After spending hours each month preparing invoices only to obtain inaccurate results, The Spinney Nursery came to Parenta in the need of a comprehensive nursery management solution.

Overview: Alison and John Thomson both have a passion for providing quality childcare, deciding to open their first nursery 13 years ago.
The Spinney Nursery consists of two nurseries both based in Chester. The Hoole Village nursery holds 36 children and the Bell Meadow nursery holds 91 and includes an after school and holiday club.
Problem: An overburden of excessive paperwork and administration quickly became too much for one person to bear. The Spinney Nursery lacked efficiency when it came to completing their administration, experiencing major constraints for improving the quality of their service.
With a lack of connectivity between their manual systems, their time-consuming invoice process still led to repetition and errors.

The frustrating process encouraged John Thomson, director of Spinney Nursery to investigate and interview ALL the main providers of childcare management systems, at length, before deciding that Parenta providing the most comprehensive nursery management solution.
Solution: Our Abacus management system has simplified their billing and administration process radically! From one-click invoicing through to generating future fees reports, Abacus proved to be a ‘real timesaver whilst producing a quality outcome’. Spinney Nursery also used our Fee Planner service, helping to streamline their fee collections.
With an easier invoicing process and no time wasted chasing fees from parents, The Spinney Nursery has experienced exceptional results for both their nurseries, with Abacus playing a key role behind the scenes.

The Bell Meadow nursery is now taking shape and has passed the break-even point with a good order book, whereas The Hoole Village Nursery is now full with a waiting list!

Reflecting on their relationship with Parenta, John Thomson, The Spinney Nursery director said, “There are many aspects of the Parenta service and products that are very supportive to the work of nurseries. We are particularly impressed by the quality of support that is available. We almost feel that the staff are old friends – approachable, patient, friendly and always there.”

If you would like to find out more about our nursery management software or Fee Planner service, or are an existing customer wishing to share your Parenta experience with others, drop your contact details in an email, or call us on 0844 504 5504 and we’ll happily help you!

“The company is always ahead of the game and up-to-date, supported by a helpful, approachable team who clearly thrive to maintain a strong relationship with us.”

Forest Nursery came to Parenta with a desire to improve their ‘time consuming and unprofessional’ invoicing and billing system. Following a demonstration with our customer support team, they quickly realised that Abacus was the ideal nursery management solution for their nursery.

Overview: Forest Nursery is a family run, small and traditional nursery based in Chippenham, Wiltshire and is currently a 26 place setting for two to five year olds. Nursery owner Rosemary Ballard, started up in childcare 16 years ago, after working in three different settings previous to Forest Nursery, one being in Hong Kong.

Problem: As with any nursery, parents have to be billed and accounts need to be regularly updated. Rosemary Ballard described their previous system as ‘time consuming and unprofessional’, causing regular frustration at the state of their accounts.

Parenta understands the different needs of nurseries when it comes to administration requirements. After experiencing her nursery burning down in 2004, Rosemary was conscious that all their information needed to be securely backed-up in the event of another unforeseeable circumstance. She was also in need of a reliable management software package that could provide a professional approach for their invoicing and billing.

Abacus  is ‘ahead of the game’ and ‘always up-to-date’

Solution: It was clear to Rosemary that what Parenta offered was how she describes as ‘ahead of the game’ and ‘always up-to-date’. After reviewing another system which was CD-based, she knew that we could offer the most comprehensive management system on the market. Abacus helped Forest Nursery implement a professional billing structure that has considerably enhanced business efficiency. The easy-to-use navigation and the fact that they can access their management software from anywhere with internet access, has saved them considerable time completing their accounts.

Reflecting on the services Parenta provides Forest Nursery, Rosemary Ballard said “I love the information you send regarding what is going on in the bigger world of childcare. I would also like to take this opportunity to say a BIG thank you and well done to you all, everyone is so helpful, professional and keeps in touch! Keep up the good work!”

If you would like to find out more about our nursery management software, or are an existing customer wishing to share your Parenta experience with others, drop your contact details in an email, or call us on 0844 504 5504 and we’ll happily help you!