“Families told
us they wanted
services tailored
to everyone –
an integrated
child and family
facility.”
46
earlyyears.teachwire.net
n the UK today people
of working age are
increasingly short of
time. For those without
children that might be a
frustration, but for those with children it
can mean nothing less than a full-blown
crisis – if your children are too old for
nursery but too young to be left at home
alone during the school holidays, and
family can’t help, what do you do? If long
hours in the office are hindering your
ability to cook dinner in the evening,
or schedule an overdue haircut, you
can be similarly stuck.
Since reducing working hours is
unlikely to be an option for mums and
dads in this position, an increasing
number of nurseries are extending their
services to meet a range of different needs
– from running holiday/after school clubs
for older children to cooking meals for
parents to take home in the evening.
These services can benefit nurseries in
multiple ways: they can entice potential
customers to a setting, if they are
perceived as adding value to a paid-for
place; and they can prove a vital revenue
stream in and of themselves,
and in these straitened times can even
mean the difference between the success
and failure of a business. Additionally they
can help to strengthen parent-practitioner
partnerships, which are vital in supporting
young children’s learning and
development.
Going down this route needn’t mean
a major investment of time or money
to begin with. At Fount Nursery in
Hackney (
see our case study on this
unique setting from page 30 – Ed.
) local
I
Offering
something
more
If your nursery is ‘only’ providing day care, you could
be missing a trick – giving parents a broader range of
services and facilities to access can boost revenues
and help you stand out from the crowd...
CLAPHAM VILLAGE
In September 2014, Bright Horizons
opened its Clapham Village nursery
(pictured) to the public – the setting was
described at the time as “the first of a new
breed of state-of-the-art ‘super nurseries’”,
and it is certainly a great example of how
far ambitious and innovative providers
can take the idea of offering parents
additional services and facilities.
“At Bright Horizons, it is our mission
to make a difference to the lives of
children, families and employers, and
we believe that nurseries should help
parents to make the most of family life,”
Simone Carter, the business’s Senior
Operations Director, told us. “We know
from our own research that families are
travelling from further afield to their
preferred childcare providers and are
busier than ever before, often juggling
responsibilities at home and at work. It
was because we recognised the needs
and challenges of modern family life that
we opened Bright Horizons Clapham
Village – a nursery that provides a
wonderfully rich environment for children
but also supports busy families through
offering a wide range of services.
“It’s located in the heart of a thriving
community and was developed through
demand for holiday childcare led
to the nursery setting up a two-week
Easter Club. Children attended between
the hours of nine and three, and were
treated to a programme of activities and
visits, with parents charged at a flat rate
of £30 per day. It proved so popular that
parents have also enquired about the
summer holidays, and it no doubt
generated much good will towards the
setting, as well as additional revenue.
Of course, the sky really is the limit
for those who wish to diversify, as
one setting in South West London,
in particular, demonstrates.
