In industries where recruitment and retention are persistent challenges, putting the right systems in place can be the difference between growth and stagnation.
Few sectors illustrate this more clearly than ours – the early years education sector. Across the UK, nursery providers are grappling with significant staffing pressure, with 84% of settings reporting difficulties recruiting staff in the past year and many saying it has forced them to limit places or restrict opening hours*.
As demand for childcare rises – particularly with the expansion of funded hours – building a strong workforce is becoming one of early years education’s biggest priorities.
As an established national franchise, we have developed a structured approach to recruitment, retention and workforce development across our network. Here, Gabriella Baker, our recruitment coordinator, explains why supporting our franchisees in this area is key to long-term success.
Tackling perception
One of the biggest recruitment challenges is attracting people into the profession in the first place. The work can be demanding and, historically, the early years education sector hasn’t always been seen as offering clear career progression.
As a result, many nurseries find themselves competing with other industries when it comes to attracting talent. Changing this perception is an important part of strengthening the workforce.
Across our network, franchisees are supported to present roles in a way that highlights the long-term opportunities available. When candidates can clearly see the potential for development and progression, the profession becomes far more appealing and helps shift the focus from stopgap to sustainable.
Preparing for change
The expansion of funded childcare hours has increased demand for nursery places up and down the UK. While this is really positive news for families, it also means providers like us must ensure we have the staffing capacity required to deliver the same high-quality care to more children.
As enquiries from parents continue to grow, planning becomes increasingly important. Workforce forecasting and early recruitment mapping allow our nursery teams to prepare for rising demand rather than reacting once capacity pressures begin to build.
Being part of our franchise network makes this process feel far more manageable. With visibility across the wider network and guidance from our central support team, franchisees are better positioned to anticipate sector changes and prepare their teams accordingly.
Centralised support that lightens the load
Recruiting and retaining staff is one of the most challenging aspects of running a nursery. Alongside managing daily operations, maintaining a consistent recruitment pipeline can place significant pressure on our franchisees and nursery managers.
Having access to centralised recruitment and HR expertise can make a meaningful difference. Within our network, franchisees receive support when hiring key leadership roles, guidance on attracting the best candidates and help implementing retention initiatives that support staff turnover stability.
This collaborative approach means our franchisees don’t have to navigate challenges alone, while also ensuring consistent standards are maintained across the wider brand.
Providing progression pathways
Attracting new staff is only part of the equation. Retaining experienced practitioners is equally important for maintaining quality and continuity within nursery settings.
Increasingly, candidates want to see clear progression pathways when they’re deciding where to work. Creating those opportunities helps demonstrate that we can offer a fulfilling lifelong career. Opportunities such as apprenticeships, regular training and easy access to professional development help our teams continue building their skills. With these available, staff are more likely to stay and grow with the brand.
A typical progression pathway at one of our settings might see a practitioner become a room leader and later move into a nursery manager role. In some cases, team members have even gone on to become franchisees in our network.
Providing visible progression routes not only supports professional progress but also helps our franchisees build motivated teams and strengthen long-term retention.
Stronger franchise networks through people
For our franchise networks, recruitment support plays a crucial role in our long-term success. By helping our franchisees plan ahead, attract the right people and create clear professional development opportunities, we support our franchisees in building stable, confident teams. In turn, this allows each of our locations to focus on delivering high-quality services while preparing for their own future growth.
As a network, when we invest in supporting our people, we strengthen each location, but also the resilience and reputation of our brand as a whole.
*Nursery Management Today, Funded hours survey, March 2026