Step-by-Step Guide to Opening Nursery in UAE

Nursery is one of the demanding businesses in UAE. There is regular increase in the number of new nursery evolving day by day. Dubai being the busiest city in the world keeps humans occupied with official and personal stuffs. Young parents who couldn’t able to hire a maid prefer nursery for babysitting. Since Nursery has to give proper care and affections for child, the UAE government has taken right measures to get proper approvals for new nursery licenses.

The Nursery is a Professional license and it must be fully owned by UAE National. The expats cannot have any shares in the business but they can be the Manager in the license. The incorporation of nursery involves 4 phases in total. Following are the steps in each phase clearly explained for your better understanding.

Phase 1: Approval from Ministry of Education

• Complete and submit the application form ( Personal information and project details)
• Attend an initial meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Education
• Submit a soft copy of the academic plan to the Ministry of Education for review.
• Make modifications based on the review of the academic plan if applicable (Maximum 3 reviews)
• Obtain initial approvals of the building following review of the floor plans by a certified fire safety consultant (Before signing a lease agreement or building a purpose built nursery)

Phase 2: Approval from Civil Defense and Municipality

• Submit the required documents (Approvals of the relevant authorities, Municipality and Civil Defense)
• Facilities a site visit from a MOE representative to obtain a final approval for the building
• Submit an application for the proposed nursery manager for approval
• Obtain approval for nursery manager following MOE interview

Phase 3: Obtain license from Department of Economic Development

• Apply and obtain an Economic Department license
• Apply for work permit for staff
• Register staff data on the SIS system
• Seek approval for advertisements
• Submit an evacuation plan
• Apply for a final visit from MOE representatives to receive an approval to operate (Once completely ready to receive children and before any child attends the nursery)

Important notes for consideration The applicant should submit the business plan. The business plan will be reviewed by the department and approved. The business plan must include Executive summary, Leadership, Curriculum, Education and care practice, Facilities and resources, Arrangement for health, safety and Hygiene, Management, Marketing and Financial plan and appendices activity you choose.

• The applicant must consider ratio requirement for area, staffing and facilities • Adult : Child Ratio • Area : Child Ratio for indoor area • Area : Child Ration for outdoor/physical development area • Toilets and changing room ratio requirement

The Nursery Director must be appointed and she/he must have university degree in early childhood or Education, or a university degree and professional certificate in early childhood leadership. She/he must also have practical work experience of two years in early childhood or education.

Kindly visit us for extra information in setting up a Nursery. With the team of 45+ professional we can assist you with all legal requirement and PRO services.

This blog post is written by Mr. Ananth. Feel free to call our Business Adviser today for a quality consultation relating your Business queries. Please send inquiry to info[at]flyingcolour[dot]com or call +971 4 4542366.