The nine-month 'Business Success for Childcare' programme, which began last week, will involve 790 workshops at more than 100 venues aimed at childminders, managers and staff of larger childcare services and local business support officers.
The programme is being delivered by A4e, a provider of training, employment and business solutions, and follows research suggesting that up to 40 per cent of the country's 100,000 providers of childcare would welcome guidance on how to run a sustainable business.
Mark Lovell, A4e's chief executive, said, 'The childcare sector not only has to deliver very important and demanding services in caring for our children, but they are also required to operate in a complex business environment.'
Attention will be focused on how successful A4e is in delivering the programme. Leading childcare organisations - some of whom bid for the training contract - have voiced concern that while A4e may have expertise in training, it lacks the specialist knowledge of the childcare sector required to deliver such a programme. The workshops were originally expected to kick off in May (Special report, 17 April).
The workshops are open to any registered childminder or team-managed childcare business, including playgroups, nurseries, out-of-school and holiday clubs, and pre-school centres. They will be held in several towns in each region of the country and participants will be able to choose aspects that will improve the skills they need for their specific business.
Mr Lovell said the programme had been shaped to cater for the needs of three distinct groups:
* The estimated 72,000 self-employed childminders caring for children in the home, whose ability to attend workshops may be limited by their commitments
* Team and committee managed businesses, where particular emphasis in the five-part course will be on businesses that are not in profit or breaking even
* Business support officers and childcare development workers who need to enhance their business support skills and their ability to provide ongoing support to providers.
Mr Lovell said that key criteria in shaping the programme had been the quality and accessibility of provision. 'In other words, no lectures, no classrooms and no lengthy textbooks - only user-friendly information, which will benefit all types of providers.
'By delivering to them business training and support daytime, evenings and weekends, we hope they can all benefit from this important programme.'
Baroness Catherine Ashton, minister for Sure Start, said, 'A4e will help provide business support to childcare providers so that they increase their skills and knowledge and improve services to benefit families in the areas where they most need it.'
Childcare professionals can find out more about the programme, including the complete schedule of workshops, by calling 0800 294 2904 or seeing the programme's website www.surestart.gov.uk/support4business.
Business support officers and childcare development workers from local authorities are also being urged to attend strands of the programme specifically designed for them.
