Sam Williams opened a 36 place nursery in Bradford in 2016, with a business partner, and is now about to open a larger nursery in Harrogate.
The nursery is on Avenue Close in Starbeck, in what was formerly two houses, before being used by the council, but more recently sold.
- 8 Avenue Cl, Harrogate HG2 7LJ
- 55 places
- A focus on creativity, nature and animals
- Opening on 15 February 2021
- https://www.natureslittlelearners.com/
Sam said:
When my youngest daughter was born, I became a child minder for her and other children, mainly as I thought it would be the best thing for her.
That then developed into a successful full-day nursery in Bradford. I was living in Bradford at the time and I opened it with a business partner. They are still running that nursery on a day-to-day basis and I am working more on the new one.
When I moved to near York, I initially looked at a farm location part-way between Harrogate and York. Unfortunately that fell through, but then I found the Starbeck property.
The Harrogate nursery will have a around 55 children, with a baby room, toddler and pre-school room. They may offer wrap-around care for older children in the future.
Sam has put a lot of thought into the nursery, from the colour schemes, the predominance of the use of wood and very little plastic, to how they will focus on creativity and be led by the child with their interests. For Sam it is about focusing on the child rather than being profit led, like some of the chain settings.
Sam said:
The nursery is based around nature, animals and belief in creative-based play as a way of learning – children learn best through curiosity and finding out for themselves.
Olivia will be taking on the roll of trainee manager, she is coming over from my Bradford nursery, here she has worked since she was 16. We also have two apprentices and have taken some staff from the nursery in Ripley that unfortunately had to close. In total we have created around 15 new jobs.
I am also passionate around building a relationship with parents, not just with the online portal, but in-person.
