The childcare sector is currently going through a boom period, according to brokers Teather and Greenwood who recently launched their fifth Enterprise Investment Scheme aimed at building and operating day nurseries. Teather and Greenwood currently operate 11 nurseries in various parts of the country and have raised more than £12.5 million for their expansion since 1999.
There are many reasons for this growth. Parents are keen to get back to work after childbirth but are less and less able to rely on families to provide childcare. And although the number of under fives is forecast to decline slightly over the next few years, the childcare sector those wanting to return to work more than make up for the reduction.
In addition the increasingly-level second salary now coming in to households means that families are able to pay more than they used to for that nursery care. The increasing burden of high mortgages means this amount is not an open purse. However all of these factors make nursery owning a greater opportunity than ever before for would- be nursery owners.
According to the March 2002 labour force survey (www.statistics.gov.uk) 69.3% of women in the UK are in some form of employment (the highest ever figure, men are at 79.3%) and 53.9% of those women had pre-school children. But significantly that percentage has grown by 11% in the past decade and now more women are choosing to have children only when they have progressed further in their careers and have achieved higher financial status.
Options
When it comes to childcare there are only limited possibilities for most parents: nannies, childminders, playgroups, and nurseries – and they all come in various different flavours. Of these nannies are the most expensive as they will provide one to one care but the advantage is that they come to the parents home. Next are childminders, who are cheaper than nannies. They use their own home and are registered by the local authority. Playgroups, which are only really regarded as temporary arrangements, are normally operated in morning or afternoon sessions and are generally limited to children aged three to five, plus they often involve parents who provide part of the care.
With nurseries there are three types: local authority, workplace and private day nurseries. Local authority day nurseries are rare, but offer full day care. Local authority nursery schools which are also quite rare and which offer care for three to four-year-olds for mornings or afternoons only. Workplace nurseries, which operate as private day nurseries for children of employees of a particular company and are also quite rare. Then finally there are private day nurseries, which offer full day care (often from 8.00am to 6.00pm or beyond) to children aged three months to five years. This type of nursery is the subject of the article.
