Getting Started
Extract from Coram Family and Childcare Trust report
The process of setting up any childcare provision is complex and takes a considerable amount of time. The diagram below outlines the top level process for setting up and opening a parent led nursery.
In order to get started on setting up, three main things need to be in place: a site for the childcare setting; a group of families who want to support the nursery, including some who are prepared to be parent directors; and finance for set up and resources.
At Friendly Families Nursery, the starting point was finding the nursery building that Peabody agreed to let on a below market rent. It is equally possible for a group of parents with a shared interest in setting up a parent led site to act as the starting point. If starting with a site, it is essential to dedicate time to recruit and build a sense of shared ownership between the group of parents who will run the nursery. If starting with a group of parents, the challenge could be finding a suitable venue in the right location for this group of parents. Parents tend to look for hyper local childcare and so options are likely to be limited to a small area. In some situations it may be that the two come together and a group of parents coalesce around wanting to use a particular site, for example, to save a nursery that will otherwise close down. In the vast majority of situations, funding will not already be in place and this will need to be sourced.
The time it takes to complete the process of setting up your childcare setting will vary significantly but is likely to take a minimum of six months, and could take considerably longer than this. At Friendly Families Nursery, the process took over 2 years, although this was in part due to significant delaying factors including squatters in the premises, challenges with recruitment and the Covid-19 lockdown. At some stages in the process, it can be frustrating having to complete administrative requirements before it is possible to move on to the next stage. We found it helpful to have practical activities, for example around co-design work, underway during these times to continue the momentum and demonstrate to families that progress was taking place.
At Friendly Families Nursery, the starting point was finding the nursery building that Peabody agreed to let on a below market rent. It is equally possible for a group of parents with a shared interest in setting up a parent led site to act as the starting point. If starting with a site, it is essential to dedicate time to recruit and build a sense of shared ownership between the group of parents who will run the nursery. If starting with a group of parents, the challenge could be finding a suitable venue in the right location for this group of parents. Parents tend to look for hyper local childcare and so options are likely to be limited to a small area. In some situations it may be that the two come together and a group of parents coalesce around wanting to use a particular site, for example, to save a nursery that will otherwise close down. In the vast majority of situations, funding will not already be in place and this will need to be sourced.
The time it takes to complete the process of setting up your childcare setting will vary significantly but is likely to take a minimum of six months, and could take considerably longer than this. At Friendly Families Nursery, the process took over 2 years, although this was in part due to significant delaying factors including squatters in the premises, challenges with recruitment and the Covid-19 lockdown. At some stages in the process, it can be frustrating having to complete administrative requirements before it is possible to move on to the next stage. We found it helpful to have practical activities, for example around co-design work, underway during these times to continue the momentum and demonstrate to families that progress was taking place.
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