Opening a second nursery: what to check before you commit to a second site

Ofsted approves each nursery setting separately

Your first approval doesn't carry over to a new building. In its guidance on adding another setting, Ofsted says that if you intend to operate from additional premises, "you must apply to register your new premises. This is because each group-based childcare provision setting must be approved by Ofsted." You'll pay "an approval and annual fee for each setting where childcare is provided."

Ofsted's registration policy for childcare on non-domestic premises adds the practical steps. To add premises after you've registered, you submit "an EYS form for each additional premises". Ofsted says: "We need to approve any additional premises before you can begin operating from there. We may need to carry out an approval visit at the new premises or an inspection at one of your existing settings before we can make an approval decision."

Three consequences follow:

• You can't open early. Ofsted says the new setting "must be approved by Ofsted before it can legally begin operating", and that doing so without approval means providing unregistered childcare, "which is an offence".
• There's a fee per setting. The fee to get additional premises approved on the Early Years Register, for childcare on non-domestic premises, is currently £220, and the same amount is due every year after that. Ofsted doesn't refund it if approval is refused.
• Your current setting matters too. Ofsted may inspect one of your existing settings before it decides.

The application is made by the owner or, for a company or group, by the nominated individual.

Expansion or a new setting?

There is one narrower route. If you're expanding into premises next to or close to your existing setting, and you'll run both as one setting, Ofsted may treat it as an expansion. Its guidance says it will consider this only if it agrees in advance, and only if:

• the same manager oversees both premises;
• the manager can monitor and supervise staff across both effectively;
• the expansion doesn't compromise the ability of the manager and staff to meet children's needs and supervise them safely;
• both premises run under the same management structure and policies;
• the premises are connected or close to each other, with no barriers (for example, busy roads or large public spaces) or distances that would stop staff moving quickly between them.

If the new premises will have their own manager, run differently, sit under a different company, or are too far away for one manager to oversee, you'll need a new, separate setting. Ofsted makes the final decision. For an expansion, you apply by email, and only "when the new premises are fully prepared and ready to operate."

For most groups opening a genuine second site, the answer will be a new setting. Plan for that unless the new building is next door or very close, and you mean to run both as one.

The premises have to be ready before you apply

This is the point that shapes your programme. For an expansion, Ofsted won't consider the application until the premises are ready. For a registration, its policy says: "Your premises must be ready to use as soon as your registration is granted. This means any significant building work must have been completed."

So the order is usually:

1. Find the building and check it works, before you sign.
2. Agree the lease and get any planning permission you need.
3. Carry out the works.
4. Apply to Ofsted for approval of the new premises.
5. Open once approval is granted.

Your lease and your building work both start well before you can care for children there. The shorter the gap between finishing the works and getting approval, the better. That gap starts with a building that doesn't need surprises fixed halfway through.

Ofsted also says it "will not explicitly check whether you have approval from your landlord" to work from your premises, but you're still expected to comply with the legal requirements. Check that the lease allows nursery use. Don't rely on the approval process to catch it.

A manager for each setting

Each setting needs its own manager. The EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers (paragraph 3.45) says "the manager of the setting must hold an approved qualification at level 3 or above". The provider must also have a named deputy who can take charge in the manager's absence. Staff:child ratios apply "across the whole provision, not just each room" (paragraph 3.47).

For a second site, that means a second manager and a deputy, unless the premises qualify as an expansion under one manager. Name them early. Who will run the site affects the layout too: where the office sits, how the rooms can be supervised and how staff move around the building.

Re-run the premises checks, don't copy them

A second site is a different building. The layout that works on site one may not fit site two, and the age mix you can offer may change with it. Run the same checks again, from scratch:

• Space per child. The EYFS indoor space standards (paragraph 3.83) are 3.5 m² per child under two, 2.5 m² for two-year-olds and 2.3 m² for three- to five-year-olds, measured on usable areas. Our guide to nursery space requirements shows how to work out what a building will take.
• A separate baby room. Paragraph 3.87 says: "There should be a separate baby room for children under the age of two."
• Toilets and changing. An adequate number of toilets and hand basins, usually separate toilets for adults, and hygienic nappy-changing facilities (paragraph 3.88).
• Outdoor play. Daily access to an outdoor play area, or outdoor activities planned and taken every day (paragraph 3.85).
• Planning. Day nurseries fall within Class E(f) of the Use Classes Order, but that doesn't mean every building can become one without permission. See what use class is a nursery?
• Fire, escape and the front door. Our checklist will this building work for a nursery? sets out the checks in the order we'd work through them.

What you do have the second time is experience. You know which rooms work, where storage ran out, how buggies arrive at the door, and where staff want the office. Write that down as a short standard brief for your group, so every candidate building is tested against the same list. It makes site three quicker to judge.

Location: demand, and the distance between sites

Before you commit, read the local authority's childcare sufficiency report for the area. The statutory guidance for local authorities in England says they should report annually to elected council members on how they're meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and that this report "should be made available and accessible to parents". It's a public starting point for understanding local provision.

Distance matters for a different reason too. If you hope the new premises will count as an expansion, Ofsted looks at whether there are barriers, such as busy roads, or distances that would stop staff moving quickly between the two. Even for a separate setting, how far apart your sites are affects how you share staff and management in practice.

A practical order of checks

1. Expansion or new setting? Run through Ofsted's criteria. If in doubt, assume a new setting.
2. Manager and deputy. Who will run the site, and are they qualified?
3. The building. Space per child, baby room, toilets and changing, outdoor play, escape routes and access, all tested on the real floor plans.
4. Planning and the lease. Use class, planning history and conditions, and a lease that allows nursery use.
5. Programme. Works finished before you apply, and the Ofsted fee and approval built into your timeline.
6. Your existing setting. Ofsted may inspect it before it approves the new premises, so keep it ready.

Frequently asked questions

Looking at a second site?

We have tested candidate buildings for nursery clients to see whether each could work as a nursery. The Nursery & School Premises Sprint checks a building before you sign, including a planning desk check that reads the borough's childcare sufficiency report. It's from £1,950 + VAT for a site of up to about 300 m², and groups can add further sites at £750 + VAT each.

Book a free intro call Get the free checklist → See the Nursery & School Premises Sprint →