With almost two decades of running a multimillion-pound childcare business behind her, chief executive officer of Kids Allowed Jennie Johnson is turning her thoughts to the more altruistic side of the business. The family-owned, Manchester-based group, which has won the prestigious Nursery Group of the Year award for the second time in three years at the Nursery WorldAwards, has not only started a targeted campaign to attract elder volunteers to the workforce but has also committed to removing all single-use plastics by 2020.
‘I’ve had a few wake-up calls over the past couple of years,’ Ms Johnson says. ‘Firstly, the passing of my mother-in-law, who used to volunteer in the baby room for Kids Allowed, prompted me to reflect on how we could further engage more with the older generation as I saw how it benefited both her and the team, as well as babies in the room. And secondly, after realising that each year we poured about 7,500kg of glitter down the sink and every day we threw away, on average, 1,500 plastic yogurt pots, one for each child, I decided to take a close look at how we could become more sustainable.’
Each of Kids Allowed’s eight settings now have a grandparent or older-age adult from the local community who come in to help out on a regular weekly basis. The social media campaign, which was launched on the chain’s Facebook page earlier this year and proved hugely popular with applicants, called out for ‘cuddlers’ to help in the baby room; ‘meeters and greeters’ to welcome children and families at the beginning and end of the day; and ‘allotment attendees’.
‘We make it very clear that the volunteer roles are over and above the day-to-day operations of the business because this is definitely not about free labour,’ explains Ms Johnson. ‘If a volunteer wakes up and doesn't feel like coming in, that’s fine. We don’t need to have them there; we want to have them there. They are in control – and they are highly valued members of the team.’
So far, the campaign has attracted a retired head teacher, a retired midwife and a grandparent who helped build an allotment, even though he doesn’t have a garden himself. ‘My mother-in-law used to catch a bus to the setting using her free bus pass and spend three hours, three times a week in the baby room,’ Ms Johnson reminisces. ‘She loved the sense of purpose this gave her. Having raised six children of her own and having nine grandchildren, she was a huge help feeding and comforting babies. She also developed a strong bond with one of our younger apprentices who really valued her wisdom.’
Over the next year, the chain’s intention is to engage with the local community and expand the number of older-age adult volunteers. ‘With eight large settings catering for 1,700 children and employing 500 staff members, we have the capacity for anything up to 40 volunteers,’ Ms Johnson says. ‘For example, we have ten baby rooms over our eight settings, so if we had a cuddler in every day, we could support 20 to 25 people over a week if they were popping in twice a week.’
ENGAGING THE YOUNGER COMMUNITY
At the younger end of the spectrum, Kids Allowed has also started a summer work experience initiative, giving college and university students the chance to gain experience and earn extra income over the holidays.
Ms Johnson says, ‘Summer has the biggest cohort of children and September is much quieter because around 20 per cent leave to go to Reception classes. So, as recruiters, there’s a fine balance to strike because we don’t want to recruit too many permanent positions over the summer, but we want high-quality candidates. The campaign targeted students studying for teaching or early year degrees and offered them six- to eight-week fixed-term contracts with a guaranteed number of hours a week.
‘This proved really successful because we got high-calibre candidates and in return they got paid, relevant work experience that looks good on their CVs – and some even got an offer of a job from us for once they have finished their studies.’
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
On the environmental front, the nursery group is committed to removing single-use plastics by 2020. So far, it has stopped using glitter completely and has switched to reusable cups and biodegradable nappy bags, nappies and wipes.
‘During our review, we were shocked to discover that we were using 461,000 gloves and 73,000 aprons per year and have significantly reduced the usage by commonsense risk-assessing in the moment, using only when necessary,’ says Ms Johnson. ‘We have also replaced the 60,000 disposable cups and 30,000 lids we use per year with re-usable cups.
‘Also, we now buy five-litre yogurt pots, which are recyclable, and we serve the yogurt in bowls. We’ve gone through every aspect of the business and we’re well on the way to achieving our goal.’
ABOUT KIDS ALLOWED
The first nursery opened in Cheadle Royal Business Park in Manchester in September 2005, followed by Christie Fields Centre in West Didsbury in May 2006. Kids Allowed is back to being a family-owned business after buying out its investors in October 2018, which had always been its intention.
