Many early NOF-funded schemes foundered through poor business planning, but long-time out-of-school care provider Miranda Walker, from Cullumpton, Devon, believes she has stayed in business because, 'we were really, really careful with our market research'.
She has a 20-place nursery and started providing out-of-school care before NOF was founded and start-up money was much scarcer. She now owns two out-of-school clubs, each with 24 places, and a holiday club.
Would-be providers need to be fully aware of the staffing issues peculiar to this kind of provision, she adds, with staff having to work the very times that most parents want to be at home. She also prefers to base her clubs in school buildings, so avoiding potential problems in escorting children to other premises - and finding staff to chaperone them.
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