How does your nursery meet parents childcare needs?
As we all know the demand for childcare is forever increasing and with schemes being introduced the demand is only going to get worse, how are nurseries going to keep up with it. Many nurseries today already have waiting list lists which is great to have but what about those families that won’t be offered a place.
A normal working day for parents is 9 till 5 but as childcare providers already know that this isn’t the case , with many parents working longer or shorter hours and even working shift patterns. Meeting parents childcare needs can be difficult for nurseries the full day and half days are easy to offer but accommodating other hours is where the difficultly begins. Some nurseries accomodate shift pattern hours that vary week to week, but how does this work with regard to keeping a child’s place available each week every day even though they may not need a certain day one week. As a manager or owner it is important to look at what your offering in terms of sessions and fees from a business point to see if your nursery is sustainable.
With the introduction of new schemes such as the free hrs entitlement for both two year olds and three to four year olds this has seen an increases in the demand for childcare places especially in certain areas. How has your nursery coped with this has it affected the amount of places you have been able to offer to other parents.
Running a successful nursery is far harder than people think , having to juggle day to day tasks and meet Ofsted requirements are just a couple of things amongst the forever growing list of jobs. Keeping up with parent’s demands as well as governments can have its challenges especially with trying to accommodate the different working hours that parents work.
Having a flexible approach can really help parents childcare needs, Children are able to receive high quality care whilst parents go out work. Evaluating the parents demand for childcare can be beneficial as you may find other alternatives that work better all around. Sending out questionnaires and talking to parents will give you some valued information to look at.
Finding the balance where parents are happy and nurseries are sustainable is what nurseries would like to see happen.