News

Big players warm to NDNA

Some of Britain's largest nursery chains have joined the National Day Nurseries Association in recent months as a result of the rapid expansion of the childcare sector and the need for a single voice to represent the interests of nurseries. John Woodward, managing director of Busy Bees, which has 45 nurseries and 1,200 employees, said, 'We've been around for 19 years and we believe it is time for us to contribute by joining the NDNA, which has a commonsense approach and a good understanding of the realities of the sector. In the past, we've been reluctant to join anything just to promote the company.'
Some of Britain's largest nursery chains have joined the National Day Nurseries Association in recent months as a result of the rapid expansion of the childcare sector and the need for a single voice to represent the interests of nurseries.

John Woodward, managing director of Busy Bees, which has 45 nurseries and 1,200 employees, said, 'We've been around for 19 years and we believe it is time for us to contribute by joining the NDNA, which has a commonsense approach and a good understanding of the realities of the sector. In the past, we've been reluctant to join anything just to promote the company.'

Mr Woodward, who founded Busy Bees to meet his family's own childcare needs, said that from being 'very much a cottage industry', the sector was now rapidly growing, and would benefit from having a single voice. 'In the next few years, there will be larger companies, more consolidation and, with the investment from Government, a booming sector and, therefore, we are not really in competition with each other. We have no trade secrets, what we want is the spread of best practice and the NDNA will help that.'

Apart from Busy Bees, the NDNA's recent new 'recruits' include Academy Childcare, Careshare, Childcare Enterprise, BUPA Childcare and Leapfrog. Asquith Court Schools signed up last year, joining longstanding members ChildBase and Kindercare Childcare Centres. Ten per cent of NDNA members are now from the larger chains, 13 per cent from groups with a couple of sites, while 60 per cent of members are single-site providers.

NDNA chief executive Rosemary Murphy said, 'We are delighted more of the larger groups have taken up membership of the NDNA. These are challenging and exciting times for the day nursery sector. The NDNA will continue to address the needs of all its members whether single site or larger.'

She added that by 'working together under the NDNA banner, nurseries, whether small providers or large operators, can ensure their voice is heard at the highest level'.

Julia Doxford, national operations manager of Childcare Enterprise, said NDNA membership would ensure its workplace nurseries are 'kept up to date'

and would help the chain in assisting NHS Trusts with bids for cash to fund on-site nurseries.

Josie Jordan, marketing and sales director of Jigsaw, said the company has 'not ruled it out or ruled it in. But we are ready to be persuaded'.

Margot O'Connor, human resources specialist at Careshare in Scotland, said that while it decided to join the NDNA, it still retained strong links with the Scottish Independent Nurseries Association (SINA).