We visited Maggie and Rose’s Islington setting in November 2021, and to say there was a lot going on is an understatement. Children were enjoying cooking classes, craft activities, and even the bespoke soft play area!
But all these activities require lots of organisation and planning, not to mention budgeting.
And that’s where Famly comes in.
Famly allows managers from each of Maggie and Rose’s three settings to work together, either supporting one another with day-to-day administration or planning financially as a group.
We sat down with them to find out how it works. And yes, we did get to try out the soft play!
Maggie and Rose have three boutique nursery settings across London, Islington, Chiswick, and Kensington. They use a blend of Montessori, Reggio and, HighScope approaches alongside their own bespoke curriculum. Each of the settings has a unique design theme, from Brighton Pier theme to a village green and encompasses a family club, cafe, and restaurant too.
Charlotte and Gemma explain how they use Famly as a team of managers across the three settings, to gain oversight and support one another.
This benefits the whole group, as manager Gemma explains, “Looking at our revenue, the forecast for the following months, we can see where we need to push to sell extras. Because we can forecast to the following months and any children leaving or starting, we can see the projected budget.
It makes it easier to see where we need to push and where our vacancies are. If we have ad hoc sessions and ad hoc bookings, we know that we can boost revenue. We know we can meet our targets. We have visibility of all three settings, so we can budget together as well”
“It's really beneficial that the managers from other settings, or my directors of education, can log on and see the exact same things that I can, at the same time. Quite often I'll ring Gemma from Chiswick and say, "Gemma, can you please help me with this invoice?" We'll speak through it on the phone, but we're actually seeing the same things on the screen at the exact same time. So it is a good support system.”
“As a manager, you never have enough time on your hands and Famly just frees up so much time. Previously, invoicing would take a whole day. Now, it takes maybe 15, or 20 minutes maximum.
For me, personally, it means that not only can I maybe then go and spend that extra time in the rooms with the children and get some hands-on experience. Or, it means that I get time to have a one-on-one session with a member of staff, or it means that I have time to actually carry out some in-house training.
Having that daily really, really impacts my progression and the things that I can do within the nursery.”
Charlotte Brewer, Manager, Maggie and Rose Islington
Famly makes better nursery management software. We help hundreds of providers across the UK to streamline the tedious admin and paperwork that comes with running a nursery.
Please note: here at Famly we love sharing creative activities for you to try with the children at your setting, but you know them best. Take the time to consider adaptions you might need to make so these activities are accessible and developmentally appropriate for the children you work with. Just as you ordinarily would, conduct risk assessments for your children and your setting before undertaking new activities, and ensure you and your staff are following your own health and safety guidelines.
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