Helping youngsters in most challenged areas get the best start in life

In the latest edition of Marketing Derby’s Innovate Magazine, we meet the team behind The Early Years Community – an award-winning Derby children’s nursery.

Founded just two years ago, the venture, which has garnered hundreds of glowing reviews from happy parents, has recently been named among the top nurseries in the UK.

This comes hot on the heels of it being named Marketing Derby’s Rising Star for 2025.

Lisa Snell, Sarah Oswald and Sophie McCluskey started Early Years with a passion to provide exceptional childcare and education for families in some of Derby’s most challenged areas.

They believe every young person, regardless of their background, deserves the best possible opportunity to learn, explore and grow – and as Innovate discovers, they are delivering.

Today, they operate nurseries in Osmaston, Sunnyhill and Rosehill.

Sarah told Innovate: “We had all come from corporate backgrounds and had worked in affluent areas, but seeing families in other places struggle to access quality childcare, we wanted to create something for the community – something for those families regardless of their postcode, regardless of their language or nationality, so that their children can get the best start.”

However, the path has not been without its challenges as it has looked to establish itself in areas where, culturally, there has been a reluctance to engage with early years care outside of the family setting.

Lisa told Innovate: “We’ve had to adapt to the communities we’ve been working with and understand what they require.

“The community is very close knit and as people heard children were coming to us and having great experiences, it became more acceptable.

Sophie said: “But, if we weren’t here, I would say a very small percentage of those children would have gone into early education.”

The Early Years Community’s philosophy is built around the principles of ‘explore, learn and grow’ – and this is reflected at its nurseries.

Sophie adds: “A lot of our children don’t have access to open space at home. So, making sure all of our nurseries have that free flow aspect to exploration – to bring outdoors in our gardens, being outside in the community, going on walks to the local parks – is really important.”

To read the feature in full click here.