One of the greatest advantages that nursery chain managers hold over their counterparts at single-site settings is their ability to share and exchange information and advice about all facets of childcare with their colleagues across their organisations. But managers of standalone nurseries can avoid isolation and enjoy the benefits of group support by joining, or indeed forming, a local network.
Current pressures on nurseries to retain staff, deliver quality care and remain viable make some single-site managers wary of networking with potential commercial rivals. Yet, single-site managers already enjoying the benefits of networking say that nurseries should be able to link up with other local settings that are not in direct competition, perhaps because of their location or facilities.
Diane Allmark, proprietor of the Lollipop Pre-Schools, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, and a member of several network groups, says, 'There is an element of being aware of competition, especially when you are running a business. There are just some things you don't let out, but at the same time we are all working towards the same goals and for the same reasons and it is just good to share ideas.
'Our local health visitors have recently started a health liaison network for the early years and we all meet up and discuss health-related topics.
We have had talks on allergies, and behaviour management, and the local asthma nurses spoke to us.
'It is a two-way exchange. We are getting more detailed and practical information on a range of health-related issues. The health visitors sometimes have difficulty accessing some of the families and we can provide a useful link for them.
'We also have contact lunches, where our local Pre-school Learning Alliance co-ordinator gets us together so we can discuss any worries or concerns about Ofsted or new regulations or whatever our problems are. It is reassuring to share your worries and to know you are not alone.'
Respecting confidentiality when sharing information in a network is important, says Ms Allmark. 'Confidentiality does come into it. A lot of the time, names are not mentioned.' But members of some networks will warn one another if a setting has been left with a bad debt.
Networks can operate flexibly as a formal forum, as a host for guest speakers or as a general get-together for managers to swap experiences and information.
Lisa Hockney, manager of the Sunbeams Day Nursery, Plymouth, says, 'We have an NDNA network group in Plymouth and we meet every couple of months.
'It is a bit of a get-together and we talk about issues that are important to us, or we invite different speakers to come and talk to us. For example, in December we had somebody in from the local nursery agency who talked to us about providing holiday cover and sickness cover. We have had talks on quality issues such as Investors In Children and Investors In People.
'There are only eight settings in the group and mostly it is just the management teams that attend.But if it is something people think is important, they will bring their staff too. When we had a talk from Ofsted nearly everyone took all their staff, so there were about 100 of us there.
'We have a system for cascading information. Someone rings me and then I will ring the next person, who passes the information on. It saves one person having to spend a morning calling everyone else.'
Being part of a larger group can also give settings more clout when it comes to dealing with local officials, says Claire Schofield, head of communications and membership services at the NDNA.
'Networking is of great importance to nurseries and to the NDNA. We have a number of thriving NDNA networks across the country. They provide a very effective way for nurseries to share information and advice, support each other and socialise.
'Being part of a formalised NDNA network can give nurseries greater standing and effective representation within their local authority area. We are taking steps to further support and develop NDNA networks and are keen to support the set-up of new ones.'
CASE STUDY: COLCHESTER CHILDCARE CONNECTION
Five settings based in and around Colchester formed the Colchester Childcare Connection more than eight years ago when the proprietors realised how much they had in common and how much they could share with one another to help raise standards, says Susan Moss-Thomas, the manager of Orchard Barns Kindergarten.
'It was started by Anita Huckle, proprietor of Orchard Barns, Paul Pissaro, who owns the Hollies day nursery, and Catherine House who owns Springlands day nursery. It now also includes Blossom House, a day nursery which Anita and I part-own and also Pippins Montessori. We are not rivals as we are spread across Colchester, so we are not vying for the same custom.
'We share on all sorts of different levels, for example training. We organise courses for all our trainees and different nurseries will take it in turns to host the course and that gives trainees a chance to see other ways of doing things. We run joint courses for our staff on health and safety, customer service or whatever.
'We can share training on new resources. We arranged persona doll training for all the nurseries and then we bought some dolls between us, which we share. They are about 80 each, so this makes it much more affordable and gives us more variety.
'We bought a bouncy castle between us for use at our individual fun days.
We can club together and buy expensive specialist things you just would not buy on your own.
'If I notice that Catherine has got some super bit of new equipment, I can ask to borrow it and try it out here to see if it is something we could find useful.
'The proprietors network, the management teams network and the staff meet up at our joint training sessions. It just gives you another perspective on your work. Our staff say they gain so much from learning about other people's experiences.
'We also share information, whether it is about a new government initiative or change in policy to sharing best practice ideas. We are also members of the Essex branch of the NDNA so we get information from them about policy changes too.
'We can offer advice and support to one another, for instance with a problem such as a child who was persistently biting. We spoke to the health visitors, to behaviour management experts, and to someone in another nursery who had been through it too and she was great. This is an excellent way to share best practice ideas and raise your standards.
'We also share information about possible dangers. For instance, I received a call the other day from a nursery not in the group to tell me about a suspicious-looking car that had been spotted on its drive. The occupants had driven off fast when challenged. I was able to quickly cascade that information out around the network and warn them to be on their guard.'
