Nursery Management Show

At Nursery Management Show you can meet suppliers to early years settings, hear more than 60 speakers and book free one-to-one business advice in one day at Excel London. Nexus Media Group organises Nursery Management Show, a one-day exhibition and conference for nursery owners, chief executives, directors and managers, in association with Nursery Management Today. The 2026 London edition combines the supplier exhibition with four content theatres, a business clinic zone and a mentoring scheme for nursery leaders.

Free entry to the 2026 London edition

• Date: Friday 27 November 2026
• Opening hours: 09:30 to 16:00
• Venue: Excel London
• Admission: free places for nursery providers; no under-16s

As a nursery provider you get a free, fully funded ticket, which the organiser emails out a week before the show. Suppliers do not qualify for these places; the sales team contacts them about entry options. The organiser says sessions carry CPD accreditation.

Sessions on the issues facing nursery leaders

You can hear sessions across four theatres that match the show’s content streams: NMT Owners Club, Leadership, Operational Excellence and SEND, a whole theatre given to special educational needs. Sessions on the 2026 London agenda include a look at mergers, private equity and valuations, a CEO panel on leading through 2027, performance managing setting managers, reading the Best Start in Life policy as a business plan, using management data to stay ready for inspection, making apprenticeships pay, navigating SEND funding and the Inclusive Mainstream Fund, and meeting government guidance on inclusive estates.

The organiser lists more than 60 speakers. Named contributors include Kirsty Godfrey, a Senior His Majesty’s Inspector at Ofsted; Michael Freeston, director of quality improvement at the Early Years Alliance; Sara Vanatta of the Education Endowment Foundation; Dame Christine Lenehan; and Charlotte Goddard, editor of Nursery Management Today. Speakers also come from nursery groups including Partou, Kids Planet Day Nurseries, Fennies Nurseries, Kido and Little Dukes.

Free business advice and mentoring

You can book free one-to-one advice in the Business Clinic Zone as a registered delegate. The 2026 clinics cover business growth with Barclays, workforce development with The Childcare Company, nursery security and safeguarding with Verkada, and finding extra value for a nursery with YellowNest. The organiser recommends booking ahead, as drop-in places on the day are limited. The Nursery Leaders Mentoring Scheme offers 20-minute one-to-one sessions with influential leaders in the sector, which delegates book ahead.

Who exhibits

You can meet about 100 exhibitors at a show the organiser says draws about 2,000 attendees. The published 2026 London exhibitor list includes Ofsted, the Early Years Alliance, Barclays, Community Playthings, Famly, CPOMS, Pentagon Play, apetito, Cool Milk, The Nursery App, eyworks, Best Practice Network and Office S&M Architects, with stands numbered across rows B, C and D. The show sits in our education and technology sector alongside Bett UK, also at Excel London from 20 January 2027, and The Schools & Academies Show at NEC Birmingham on 18 November 2026.

Exhibiting

If you supply early years settings, the show puts you in front of what Nexus Media Group pitches as the most senior audience in early years, according to its exhibitor page. It also says VIP delegates, including leaders of large nursery groups, attend an invite-only dinner the evening before and stay overnight so they are at the show the next day. You can download a media kit or send an enquiry to the sales team through the form on the exhibit page. New exhibitors may find our guides to choosing your first UK trade show and following up exhibition leads useful.

Other editions

You can also visit Care Management Show, which Nexus Media Group runs at Excel London on the same day, 27 November 2026. The organiser has also staged Nursery Management Show at NEC Birmingham, with a June date there. The previous London edition was also held in November. It is one of a number of trade shows in London on our calendar.

Source: nurserymanagementshow.co.uk, nurserymanagementshow.co.uk/2026/agenda-2026-london, nurserymanagementshow.co.uk/business-clinics, nurserymanagementshow.co.uk/opportunities/exhibit