Day nurseries and pre-schools (England) playbook · 16 jobs

AI for nursery owners and managers: 16 jobs to hand to AI this week

Running a nursery means the paperwork often lands on the manager in the evening: the charging policy, invoices that must show funded hours as free, parents asking why there is a meal charge, adverts for staff, claims, rotas and cash flow. AI can turn your own prices, policies and notes into tidy drafts. It never decides what a child needs: no allergy plans, no safeguarding decisions, no staff ratios, no eligibility decisions and no child or family details go into an AI tool. This niche is for England, where the funded entitlements and the EYFS apply. Check each legal point against the linked sources and your local authority early years team.

Job 1 of 16ChatGPTGemini

Draft your charging policy: funded hours free, voluntary extras itemised, opt-outs and bring-your-own meals

From 2025 and 2026 many nurseries have had to prove that funded hours are really free and that anything extra is voluntary, itemised and optional. A written policy is the foundation for your invoices, your website and what staff say to parents. AI can turn your own fee list, sorted by you into the right categories, into a clear policy. It cannot tell you whether a charge is allowed. You check each line against the guidance and your local authority.

Time: About 1 hourCost: free tools work

A free AI chat tool, then your own email or messaging app

Steps

  1. List everything you charge for in one table: item, price, and which hours it relates to (funded hours, private paid hours or both).
  2. Mark each item yourself as one of: private paid hours, meals and snacks, non-food consumables, optional activities, or something you currently charge that you are not sure about. Check the unsure ones against the guidance and your local authority early years team.
  3. Write down your alternatives for parents who opt out: for example bringing their own food, or a waived charge.
  4. Paste the table and alternatives into the prompt and ask for a policy in plain English for parents, plus a one-page staff summary.
  5. Check every sentence against the guidance, have the owner or board approve it, and publish it with your fees.

The exact prompt

Copy, paste, then fill in the [brackets]
I run a day nursery in England. Write a charging policy for parents using only my table below. Do not decide whether any charge is allowed. If I marked an item "unsure", list it at the end under "CHECK WITH LOCAL AUTHORITY" and do not include it in the policy.
Our funded hours and patterns offered: [details].
My charges table (item, price, category I chose): [table].
Alternatives for parents who opt out of extras (my wording): [list].
How a parent opts out and how often we ask them to confirm their choices: [your wording].
Produce: (1) a policy of about 500 words in plain English that says funded hours are free, lists each voluntary extra with its price, says parents can opt out without losing their place, and explains the alternatives; (2) a one-page summary for staff to use when parents ask about charges; (3) the "CHECK WITH LOCAL AUTHORITY" list. Do not invent any price, rule or entitlement and do not give legal advice.

✓ Check before you send

  • Every charge in the policy is one you listed and categorised, and each has been checked against the guidance.
  • The policy says extras are voluntary, never a condition of a funded place, and lists alternatives.
  • No top-up fee, non-refundable registration fee, non-refundable deposit, non-refundable retainer fee or general charge on funded hours is mentioned as payable, and any charge not on your itemised list is left out.
  • The owner or board approved it and your local authority early years team has been asked about anything unclear.
  • The version published matches your invoices and website.

UK notes extra

Last reviewed Oct 2026. Free tools change. If a screen looks different, the steps still apply.Back to top ↑
Job 2 of 16ChatGPTGemini

Set up itemised invoice lines and a fee page that match, with funded hours showing as £0.00

If your invoice says one thing and your website says another, parents ring in confused and your local authority may ask questions. The guidance says invoices and receipts should break down into the free hours, private paid hours, food, non-food consumables and activities. AI can turn your price list into clear line descriptions and website wording, and can write worked examples. The invoices themselves come from your billing software, and the sums stay there.

Time: About 1 hourCost: free tools work

A free AI chat tool, then your own email or messaging app

Steps

  1. Open a recent invoice from your billing software and list every line it shows. Note which lines map to each of the five categories and which do not.
  2. Write down your real prices and patterns of hours for each category.
  3. Paste the lines and prices into the prompt and ask for plain-English line descriptions, a "how your invoice works" paragraph, and three worked examples using made-up round numbers and clearly labelled "example only".
  4. Compare the draft with the DfE chargeable extras template and fix your billing software's line names to match.
  5. Publish the fee page, check it against an actual invoice, and keep the dated versions.

The exact prompt

Copy, paste, then fill in the [brackets]
I run a day nursery in England. Write invoice line descriptions and fee page text from the information below. Use only my prices and categories. Do not calculate any total or any price. For worked examples, use only the example figures I give you and label each "example only".
My invoice lines today: [list].
Categories (my mapping): free entitlement hours, additional private paid hours, food, non-food consumables, activities.
Prices and patterns of hours offered: [table].
Example figures for three worked examples (made-up round numbers): [list].
Produce: (1) a short plain-English description for each invoice line that tells a parent what it is and whether it is optional; (2) a paragraph for the fee page called "How your invoice works" that says funded hours are shown separately and free; (3) three worked examples written out with my example figures; (4) a list of any invoice line that does not fit one of the five categories. Leave anything unclear as [MANAGER TO CHECK].

✓ Check before you send

  • Every price and total comes from your billing software, not from the tool.
  • The five categories match the guidance and your actual invoices.
  • Optional charges are described as optional and funded hours as free.
  • The fee page and invoices say the same thing, and the pattern of hours is included.
  • The fee page shows any compulsory charge in the price shown for the service it relates to.

UK notes extra

Last reviewed Oct 2026. Free tools change. If a screen looks different, the steps still apply.Back to top ↑
Job 4 of 16ChatGPTGemini

Write job adverts and interview questions for room leaders and practitioners

Staff shortages are a top challenge for many providers, and an advert that tells people what the job and the nursery are really like is the first filter. AI can turn your own facts about the room, hours, pay and values into an advert and a set of fair interview questions. It does not choose who to hire, make safeguarding decisions or tell you what qualifications you must ask for.

Time: About 45 minutes per roleCost: free tools work

A free AI chat tool, then your own email or messaging app

Steps

  1. List the facts of the job: room and age group, hours, pay, holiday, training offered, what the team is like and why people stay.
  2. Write what you must check for every new member of staff, from the EYFS suitable-people section, so the advert says so.
  3. Paste the facts into the prompt and ask for an advert and eight interview questions that focus on what the person can do and how they work with children and colleagues.
  4. Have your designated safeguarding lead check the safeguarding questions and the recruitment steps before you use them.
  5. Check the advert and questions for anything that could put off or screen out people for reasons the law protects before you publish.

The exact prompt

Copy, paste, then fill in the [brackets]
I manage a day nursery in England. Write a job advert and interview questions for the role below. Use only my facts. Do not invent pay, hours, benefits or qualifications, and do not include any wording or question about age, sex, health, pregnancy, family plans, religion, race or disability.
Role and room: [details]. Hours: [details]. Pay and benefits: [details]. Training and progression we offer: [details].
What the team and nursery are like, in my words: [list].
Essential requirements and checks I want the advert to mention: [list, e.g. "subject to suitability checks"].
Produce: (1) an advert of about 180 words in plain English; (2) eight interview questions about practice, teamwork and handling common situations, each with a line saying what a good answer might include; (3) a list of anything missing that applicants would want to know. Leave the application details as [HOW TO APPLY].

✓ Check before you send

  • Every fact in the advert is true, including pay and hours.
  • The advert says staff will go through suitability checks, as the EYFS requires.
  • No question or wording could screen out people for protected reasons.
  • The designated safeguarding lead checked safeguarding questions and recruitment steps.
  • You decide who to interview and appoint, not the tool.

UK notes extra

Last reviewed Oct 2026. Free tools change. If a screen looks different, the steps still apply.Back to top ↑

13 more jobs in the full day nurseries and pre-schools (england) playbook

Here is what each one covers. Open any job to see what is inside.

The full playbook

Unlock the other 13 day nurseries and pre-schools (england) jobs

Every job has the full steps, the exact prompt, a check-before-you-send list and optional UK notes. We keep adding new jobs and new niches, and re-checking existing jobs, while you subscribe. Monthly, cancel anytime, instant access, no password.

Just day nurseries and pre-schools (england)

£5 a month

Every job in day nurseries and pre-schools (england) plus the updates we make to it.

Subscribe · £5/mo

3 niches

£12.99 a month

Starts with day nurseries and pre-schools (england); you pick the other two (or swap later) on your account page.

Subscribe · £12.99/mo

All niches

£19.99 a month

All 64 niches, and every new one we add. Or £149 a year: save £90.88.

Subscribe · £19.99/mo or £149 a year (save £90.88)

Cancel anytime. One click in Stripe's billing page, no emails or phone calls: how to cancel.

Pay securely with Stripe. Prices include any VAT. Digital content: at checkout you ask for instant access and agree you lose the 14-day right to cancel once it starts. Terms · Privacy · Pricing · Already subscribed? Sign in

Questions day nurseries and pre-schools (england) ask

Can AI decide what a child needs?

No. It never writes allergy plans, makes safeguarding decisions, sets staff ratios or decides who is eligible for funding. These jobs are for the manager's paperwork: policies, invoices, parent letters, adverts and forecasts.

Is it safe to put child or family details into AI?

Keep child and family details out of AI completely. Use placeholders such as [parent] and [child], and keep the real records in your nursery system. Add the details yourself when you send.

Is this for nurseries outside England?

No. These jobs are written for England, where the funded entitlements and the EYFS apply. Check each legal point against the linked sources and your local authority early years team.

Privacy tip: don't paste customers' full names, addresses or other personal details into AI tools unless you need to and you've checked the tool's privacy settings.