I'm Roopam Carroll, the founder of DoodlyRoo Ltd.
I own and manage Beeston Nursery in Nottingham.
I set up this company, Doodlyroo, because I got really frustrated at constantly working things out again and again on paper and in my head. If you own or manage a nursery you'll know exactly what I mean...
These are the kinds of questions that are always sloshing around somewhere in my brain, usually at 3:00am, or when I'm out for dinner, or driving home:
How many children can we have in our rooms based on the Ofsted Space requirements?
Why don't Ofsted put a maximum number of children on my registration certificate any more?
How much space do we need on Tuesdays, when we have more babies?
Can I book this new parent in to Wednesdays and Thursdays? Will it take me over my numbers?
How many staff do I need for my Baby Room / Toddler Room / Pre-school room?
Can I mix the age groups and still be legal?
How can I make sure I always have enough staff in my nursery?
How can I make sure I don't have too many staff in my nursery?
How do I save money without cutting quality?
How do I keep track of everything? How do i keep track of annual leave, sickness, training, lateness....
When I bought my nursery back in 2012, I had no idea that I would spend so much time thinking about the same things over and over again, and working out the same calculations over and over again...
So I started inventing ways to make this easier. I started by looking at rotas, and made a spreadsheet to make it all so much more logical and straightforward.
I use this every week in my nursery, and even better, my lovely manager uses it now, so that I don't need to do the rotas at all!
She then posts the rotas in our secret staff facebook group, and everybody knows what shifts they are on. No excuses.
I still tweak the spreadsheet as we find ways to make it more user friendly, and now I have some other nurseries who are using the spreadsheet, who are finding it saves them time and money too. Find out more here: http://rotaspreadsheet.co.uk/
I have found out that I love solving problems, and because I run a nursery myself, I understand the frustrations that you face on a daily basis.
I know how daunting it can be when you look at software or IT or something that claims to make life easier, but then is too scary to set up :(
I have a background in education, management and service improvement and I LOVE helping people save time, money, effort and braincells! I am not an IT person, but I love using it to make life easier in a friendly, easy to understand way...
That's why I have set up DoodlyRoo, and I have lots, and lots of ideas of ways to help you. Some of them are already here, some are in production, and some are just a twinkle in my eye...
Have a look at our shop, and see if there's anything you need...
My qualifications:
BSc (Hons) in Science with Primary Education and Qualified Teacher Status (2i)
Post Graduate Certificate in Open and Distance Education
Post Graduate Certificate in Public Services Management
PRINCE 2 Project Management
NHS Top Talent
Masters in Business Administration (MBA) Entrepreneurship (Distinction)
and a very curious mind! I love learning all about stuff, and then helping other people to understand and use it.
You can see more on Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/roopamcarroll/
Friendly apps and products to help you manage your nursery
email: roopam@doodlyroo.co.uk telephone: 0115 775 0250