When employers began to establish work-site daycare for children of their employees in the 1980s, many realised this was an inefficient use of their time and resources. They opted to outsource the management of their day nurseries to providers of employer-sponsored childcare.
One such provider is Bright Horizons Family Solutions. In establishing and managing corporate childcare centres, it partners with employers to create programmes to suit each company's needs, providing nurseries and emergency back-up childcare for their employees. It recruits the workforce, liaises with parents and manages finances, resources and infrastructure.
Many of the workplace nurseries are also open to the local community and support local working families. Bright Horizons also has its own nurseries for community enrolment, in which employers can also buy memberships or places. A provider may also buy out nurseries that are privately owned.
Working for a major provider such as Bright Horizons offers childcare and education staff good opportunities for career progression. With in-house appointments encouraged, a room leader who takes advantage of staff development and training may progress to be nursery manager and a regional manager.
The RM inducts, trains, supports and retains nursery managers and staff to ensure that the programme consistently meets and ideally exceeds statutory and local authority regulatory requirements. S/he ensures that the region's and individual nursery's financial targets are met through careful planning and response to changing financial trends. This includes salary reviews and maintaining high-quality childcare environments.
Training and qualifications
A good knowledge of the childcare and education industry is essential for this post, with the ability to lead a team of dynamic nursery managers to meet the standards of the company and the regulatory bodies. Previous experience would be as a successful nursery manager and a regional manager or comparable management and supervisory roles.
A thorough knowledge of quality assurance and the regulations process is essential. Experience with managing multiple nurseries and of corporate clients is an advantage. The post demands a highly polished presentation and strong leadership, communication, organisational and fiscal management skills.
The recommended educational background is a BA in Early Childhood Education and an advanced management and leadership qualification relating to early years.
Many UK universities offer Early Years Foundation Degrees in these subject areas. These two-year full-time courses combine work with academic study and are delivered in partnership with employers and higher education providers. Part-time study is possible. On successful completion, students are eligible to study for an Honours degree with just a further 12-15 months full-time study, or longer part-time.
Entry requirements vary but offers are typically based in the range of 160-220 UCAS points. This is a natural route for students with Level 3 Diplomas in any area of childcare and education. An applicant's skills and achievements may be taken into consideration.
REFERENCES
- Bright Horizons Family Solutions, 2 Crown Court, Crown Park, Rushden, Northants NN10 6BS, tel: 01933 415971
- Bright Horizons 2009 study: lastingimpactUK@brighthorizons.com.
CASE STUDY: Nicola Collins
Employer: Bright Horizons
Nicola has responsibility for the operational and financial overview of eight nurseries in London and one in Kent.
Nicola gained a distinction NNEB in 1990 and later the D32/33 Assessor Award. Subsequent training has been 'on the job', as she says, 'learning from experience, observation, taking on a challenge and having a go'. At Bright Horizons, Nicola has benefited from staff development and some 'great mentors and skilful people'.
Employed first as a nanny and a special needs assistant, Nicola joined Child and Co in 1997 as a manager. She opened a 64-place nursery in Watford and progressed to being operations manager with responsibility for five nurseries. When Child and Co was acquired by Bright Horizons in 2004, Nicola assumed a senior operations manager role and in 2005 became a regional manager with full financial responsibility for seven centres.
Nicola now has nine nurseries in her portfolio and works closely with Bright Horizons Client Services to ensure the company offers the best possible partnership with their clients. She also works with their acquisitions team, reviewing other partnership opportunities.
'My working days are varied,' Nicola says. 'I check my mail by 6am and arrive at one of my nurseries by 8am. I may have a meeting where a monthly or quarterly report is delivered by the client with a review of the nursery's operation for the period.'
She writes monthly reports on the financial and operational overview of the nurseries and sends them to the Director of Operations. The report and a review of the company goals and opportunities are discussed at monthly meetings with other RMs and the Director of Operations.
Nicola values the time she spends talking to the nursery staff and children. 'I came into this profession because of my love of children and wanting to do what is right for them,' she says. 'So there is always some time for a cuddle with a baby or to read a story to a group of children. This is what the job is really about. Knowing what it is like for a child in one of my nurseries is important to me.'
Nicola has recently been promoted to the post of senior regional manager.