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nursery business
listening carefully to what parents in
Clapham want most and bringing
together the wider community –
encompassing the African proverb
‘it takes a village to raise a child’.
“During the initial stages, we worked
closely with families and distilled many
decades’ worth of our team’s experience.
Life can be hectic for parents and carers,
and families told us they wanted services
tailored to everyone – an integrated
child and family facility.
“As such Clapham Village boasts
outdoor and indoor play areas, and
bespoke studios for children to play
and learn. It also has a Parent Hub
and relaxation area, complete with
sofas for families to relax but also
meet one another, creating a nursery
community. Families also have access to
a ‘hot desk’ with a variety of technology
and equipment, including free Wi-Fi,
and can help themselves from our ‘grab
and go’ breakfast area for those busy
mornings – we know that sometimes
every minute helps! There’s also an
on-site laundry service, yoga and pilates,
and a children’s hairdresser, all of which
helps to take care of essential errands
and ensures family life runs smoothly.
Our nursery team also partners with a
local health visitor, who offers support
and advice on family health topics and
carries out developmental and
physical checks.
“Since Clapham Village opened,
feedback from families has been very
positive and we continue to listen to
our parents to ensure that we’re fully
meeting their needs on an ongoing
basis,” Simone says. “Families have
highlighted the education spaces and
facilities, which ‘encompass the traditional
and the state of the art’ and the provision
of additional facilities, ‘even exercise
classes for parents, which is fantastic’.
“Clapham Village was created to be
the best possible environment in which
children can flourish while also offering
support for today’s busy parents. Through
extra facilities, a nursery can become
an extension of home life while also
encouraging parents and practitioners
to work in collaboration, which is great
for children and their development.”
TIME TO DIVERSIFY
While not all nursery businesses will have
the space or spending power necessary to
recreate what is being offered at Clapham
Village, it does serve to illustrate the
breadth of potential ‘added extras’ that can
ADDED
EXTRAS
MANY CHILDREN HAVE
PARENTS WHO ARE
MONEY-RICH AND TIME-
POOR. EXTRA SERVICES
CAN BE OFFERED AND
CHARGED FOR AT A
PROFIT, GIVING YOU MORE
INCOME AND USING UP
HOURS WHEN STAFF ARE
UNDER-UTILISED. HAVE
YOU CONSIDERED:
1
Supplying nappies
and wipes.
2
Providing additional
meals – either to be eaten
in nursery, or to be taken home
for the weekend.
3
Keeping the child’s
‘wardrobe’ at nursery
and washing it, so that the
parents only need worry about
weekends and just drop off
and collect the child in their
pyjamas.
4
Providing personal care,
such as haircuts and cutting
finger or toenails.
5
Offering weekend trips
out to the cinema or a
pantomime.
D
be offered to families in need of a helping
hand. With parents unlikely to find the
pressures on time they face receding,
and nurseries needing to maximise their
profitability in the face of government
policy, now might be a good time to
start thinking about what strings your
setting could add to its bow.
