It's been a frustrating few weeks working on Childcare Consultancy's nursery start-up project. The building team has been unable to make up the delays suffered as a result of the bad weather in January, which has meant adjusting our launch timetable.
The biggest impact this has is on my carefully timed recruitment campaign, which may stumble as we have a pool of candidates whose likely start date must now be put back. We can't proceed with their induction until the premises are ready, but don't want them taking jobs elsewhere. Let's hope they're willing and able to hold on for a few weeks more.
On a more positive note, I have a trip to Community Playthings to look forward to, which everyone says is a brilliant experience. I'm visiting their workshops to finalise the layout and furniture order for the children's rooms. As with all the best shopping trips, it's not my money I'll be spending - although I've been careful to really justify everything. I think it's fair to say the team at Bethesda Ministries, like many of our newer clients, has been quite surprised at the level of investment needed to properly equip a childcare setting, at least if you want to guarantee a knock-out, high-quality finish. It's not only about wowing our new parents with a well- presented environment, it's also to guarantee value for money and ensure furniture will be robust and safe.
To put things into context and highlight just how important the investment and layout would be, I arranged for one of the committee members to visit a couple of other nurseries with me. We're privileged to know Nelly's Nursery in Dulwich, an outstanding setting that has won awards for innovative design. Owner Jez Hill proved very inspiring, showing off clever storage solutions and security features as well as hammering home the value in kitting out a new setting with child-centred, wooden furniture.
Down the road, in Thornton Heath, we stopped by at Star Child Montessori to catch up on their progress in renovating their new pre-school rooms. Again, witnessing a real-life working environment proved very useful for our client, who was really impressed with the funky coloured bathroom cubicles, child-height sink units and bespoke worktops. As we left that evening, I could hear the enthusiasm in her voice as she shared her thoughts and new ideas - it's going to make the last few months of the project really exciting as we plan our rooms and prepare to open.
- Derek Hayes is senior consultant/trainer at Childcare Consultancy. For more information, e-mail info@childcareconsult.co.uk.
