Interview: Linda Knight - The Co-operative Childcare's group childcare manager
Monday, June 13, 2011
The Co-operative Childcare has re-launched the first of the 23 nurseries it acquired from the Buffer Bear chain under its own branding, to mark the start of a 1.8m makeover for the combined group. The chain now runs a total of 29 nurseries across the country, offering more than 2,000 childcare places.
You relaunched the nursery in Wythenshawe, Manchester, last week under the Co-operative Childcare branding. What changes have you made to the setting?
We spent £60,000 on an internal refurbishment to modernise and brighten the nursery. This included redecorating, new flooring and purchasing new resources.
When do you plan to relaunch the other 22 ex-Buffer Bear nurseries?
The others will all be completed by the end of September. We chose to open the setting in Wythenshawe first as it was a good building and didn't need a great deal of work.
How much will you be spending on the refurbishment of the others?
We are spending a total of around £1.8m. The amount spent on each nursery will vary between £60,000 and £100,000. Most money is being spent on the settings in Chichester in West Sussex, Sutton, Great Western Hospital NHS Trust in Swindon, Wiltshire, and Newcastle.
Will there be an identifiable style to the new nurseries?
Staff will all wear Co-operative Childcare uniforms and the walls of the nurseries will be painted in the brand's colour, magneta.
How will the group move forward?
We want to fill the gap between the nurseries in Manchester and the MidCounties, and are looking for possible acquisitions of nursery chains or new builds. At the moment we are looking at a couple of projects working with further education sector nurseries. Our aim is to become one of the top five nursery chains in the county, in size and quality.
THE CO-OPERATIVE CHILDCARE
The group was set up in 2003 under its original name of Imagine Co-operative Childcare and grew to six nurseries in Oxford, Swindon and Gloucestershire. In 2009, it changed its name to The Co-operative Childcare to reinforce its commitment to the co-operative movement and its ethics and values.
As a co-operative, the nurseries are owned by their parent members and the company re-invests profits into the nursery businesses and into supporting local projects. For every £1 parents spend on fees they receive a penny back, as a dividend twice a year.
