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Staff rota and holiday requests for nurseries in RotaCloud

RotaCloud puts early and late shifts, holiday requests and sickness on staff phones, so the manager isn't rebuilding the rota weekly. From about $53£40€48A$77C$75 a month.

At a glance

  • What it costs$53–80£40–60€48–71A$77–115C$75–113 a month

  • Worth, in extra profit or time saved in the worked example$286£215€256A$413C$404 a month

  • Pays for itselfIn about a week

  • Sign up and configure; no technical skills neededEasy to set up

Figures come from the worked example below, using its stated assumptions. Tool prices checked . How we check prices

The problem

A nursery open from 7:30 to 6 needs early and late shifts covered, holidays spread out and sickness covered fast, all while keeping EYFS ratios. A manager spending 3 hours a week on the rota and 2 hours on holiday requests and cover is spending about 21.5 hours a month.

What the AI does

RotaCloud's Standard plan lists drag-and-drop rota planning, templates, free mobile apps, holiday management, sickness and absence tracking, shift swapping and staff availability patterns, with email and push notifications. Staff request holiday and see their shifts on their phone; the manager approves. RotaCloud doesn't know how many children are booked in each room, so the manager checks the rota against room bookings and EYFS ratios, qualifications and pediatric first aid cover before publishing.

A worked example

A 40-place nursery in York has 16 staff, including the manager, working early, middle and late shifts. The manager builds a standard week as a template and staff request holidays in the app.

Before

3 hours a week on the rota and 2 hours on holidays and cover: about 21.5 hours a month

After

1.5 hours a week on the rota and 1 hour on requests: about 10.75 hours a month

What it's worth

About $286£215€256A$413C$404 a month of manager time saved (10.75 hours at an assumed $27£20€24A$38C$38 an hour). RotaCloud Standard for 11 to 20 employees is $53£40€48A$77C$75 a month, and Pro, which adds a logbook for training dates, is $80£60€71A$115C$113 according to its team-size selector; check your band on its pricing page.

How to set it up

  1. Start the 30-day free trial and add every member of staff, including the manager.
  2. Build your usual week of early, middle and late shifts as a template, by room.
  3. Set holiday rules, such as how many can be off at once, and ask staff to request leave in the app.
  4. Before publishing each week, check the rota against room bookings, ratios, qualified staff and pediatric first aid cover.
  5. Approve swaps only after the same check.

What goes wrong

  • RotaCloud doesn't check EYFS ratios, qualification levels or first aid cover. That check stays with the manager every week.
  • Pricing is by employee band, including the manager. Going past 20 staff moves you to the next band.
  • Text notifications are a paid add-on; staff who ignore app notifications may miss changes.
  • Holiday rules in the app don't replace your contract terms. Make sure they say the same thing.

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Last updated October 17, 2026.