Staff retention is always cited as a major problem facing managers of early years settings, but for one group of providers it is not an issue.
Childcare co-operatives, by their very nature, are caring businesses. They care for their workforce, value them and retain them, says Margaret Lucas, co-ordinator of the recently launched National Co-operative Childcare Network.
There is no single co-op format, but the basic premise is that they are owned by the members (see box).
'Co-ops run as businesses and make a surplus,' says Co-operatives UK's national strategy director, Helen Seymour. 'It is what they do with the surplus that makes the difference: they make sure the workers have good wages and conditions and they re-invest in the services they provide. The money does not go to external shareholders.'
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