My working life... Mobile creche manager

Claire Adams is an events co-ordinator for mobile creche provider Tinies, which offers childcare facilities for children aged three months to 12 years at events such as conferences, weddings and festivals.

She has been with the company for 14 years and now owns and runs five branches as franchises in the home counties of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Hertfordshire, as well as in Hampshire and Dorset.

She says, 'We don't drive around a big "fun bus". Rather, we occupy a prearranged space and tailor it to meet the client's needs.

'On a typical day I'll begin by going through enquiries we've received. I establish what clients want and arrange a visit. A typical lead time is two months. Once I've received a brief and agreed a price, I look to see what staff teams are available.

'I'm often driving between the five counties I work in, so I spend a lot of time on the road. When I visit a venue for the first time, we do a full health and safety assessment to make sure the space is suitable. For example, are the bathrooms close enough? Do we have to cover plug sockets? If we're satisfied, we discuss how we would transform the area into a children's wonderland.

'I come back to the office and put that into place. I'll visit our equipment store and organise everything to be put together. If we're doing a themed event, I look into what has to be purchased - for example, for a woodland theme.

'Many bookings are only three hours long, which means they're not Ofsted-compliant. But we have to register longer events with Ofsted and meet its requirements. I write to Ofsted to inform them of every event, and receive confirmation that it's OK. Ofsted could come and inspect any of the events we run.

'The average creche size is 20 children - the largest we've held is for 50. They could last from two hours, which is more children's entertainment, to over a weekend. Children are registered with us on the day, and we ask parents to inform us in advance if they have any medical or special needs.

'The childcare we provide has elements of free and structured play. If we are booked for a whole day, we'll schedule activities and breaks such as arts and crafts and outdoor play. We have to adhere to EYFS guidelines, but our delivery is a bit looser as it's not formal education.

'We don't offer food, but can supervise meals. Generally, children go back to parents to eat, and that's a natural time for our staff to have a break. It's too difficult with children's specific requirements and allergies, so we leave this to catering.

'We've noticed an increase in demand at conferences (last year we hosted creches at some of the political party conferences). Organisations are having to be more child-friendly because people don't necessarily have the childcare to enable them to attend otherwise. We've also noticed more weddings where the bride has organised a creche for her own children and those of her guests. Perhaps it's because people are getting married older or for a second time.

'Working on the mobile creche can involve early starts and late nights. It can be challenging to find staff over a weekend to do that. Workers need to be adaptable and able to work with lots of different people. They have to be fun-loving, caring and good at building relationships because they're just with a child for a day. I'm constantly interviewing new candidates for the team.

'We collect feedback forms from clients and parents after every creche. A lot of referrals come from parents, particularly after weddings. Some also come from the wedding shows we market at.

'Although I'm the owner, I still support my staff at events, particularly if it's high-profile. The client might want me there, leading my staff and organising activities. I enjoy what I've always done, which is playing with and educating children in a fun way.'

CV

Qualifications

• BTEC national diploma in nursery nursing, Amersham & Wycombe College, Buckingham, 1995
• Degree in midwifery, University of Hertfordshire, 1999

Employment history

• 1999-2004: Branch consultant and branch manager, Tinies, Buckinghamshire
• 2004-present: Events co-ordinator and branch owner of Tinies in Hampshire, Dorset, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Hertfordshire

 TRAINING

As a branch owner, Ms Adams has not had to continue training. Tinies expects its mobile creche managers to have at least an NVQ level 3 in childcare, and ideally a foundation degree, to complete health and safety training provided by Tinies, and also to pass an online competency test.

USEFUL WEBSITES

- Ofsted registration guidelines: www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/ factsheet-childcare-registration-not-required

- Tinies Creches: www.tinies.com/creches

- Other mobile creche providers: www.pre-school.org.uk - its Mobile Creche Service operates across the country for birth to five-year-olds; nipperbout.com; www.mobilecreche.biz; www.edenmobilecreche.com.