Mike McKechnie told the conference 'Children's Nurseries: Continuing the Growth', 'This is a sector that needs careful thought around a number of areas, primarily marketing and human resources.'
He said that on his visits to nurseries it had struck him that parents who came in were doing so to 'offset the awful sense of guilt they feel when they leave their children', and suggested the industry needed to present itself better to parents in terms of the 'added value' a nursery environment offered children.
It was also important for employees to understand that care and profitability could come together. 'All too often there is a fear that the search for profit will compromise care. This is a sector that relies on the integrity of the product to deliver profit.'
