Heads would turn if a football team rose from scratch in one season to take a place in the premier league. But in the childcare sector such a goal is comfortably in the sights of the Pre-School Learning Alliance.
In little more than a year, the educational charity, which represents and supports 16,000 pre-schools in England, will have gone from opening its first setting under the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative (NNI) to ranking among the15 largest nursery chains.
Sure Start minister Catherine Ashton opened the PLA's first Neighbourhood Nursery, the Wheelhouse in Lewisham, south London, last June. By July 2004, the PLA will be running a chain of 25 nurseries, providing 1,238 places with around 1,000 part-time staff.
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