Think of a nursery chain and it tends to be one of the largest groups with thousands of places that springs to mind. But with more than 160 groups listed in the Nursery Chains directory, there are many thriving middle-sized companies that have no intention of challenging those topping the league table. Big is not necessarily better, in the opinion of their directors. There are many benefits to keeping to growth within bounds.
'To be honest, I'm not sure that we would want to be a lot bigger than we already are,' says Sue Watson, director of Bramleys Nurseries, which comprises six settings. 'I know every member of staff and am in tune with all the different locations and what is happening in the local areas. I feel genuinely involved in all the nurseries and visit each one every two weeks.'
This is repeated by many directors of medium-sized chains who believe there is a great strength in personally overseeing each setting. Rosalind Taylor, co-director of Puffins of Exeter Childcare Centres, says, 'Eight nurseries is nice and manageable. We know all the staff and parents and there is a much nicer feel.
'We know how difficult it is to keep the standards just as we want and all our Exeter nurseries are just five minutes drive and the two in Torquay are an hour away. Even when you have got managers in charge you still have to keep an eye on everything in order to keep standards.'
Kevin Collins, director of Busy Nought to Fives, which currently has six nurseries, agrees, 'By maintaining the medium status we feel we can maintain quality in what is going to be a very difficult time for the nursery sector - we need to keep our eyes closely on the ball.'
He adds, 'If a group is run well then bigger is better because there are better returns. But medium groups are at an advantage if they are a quality-driven group because they can still imprint on each nursery the quality that brings high returns. Successful medium groups need to concentrate on that.'
Owning a number of nurseries makes it financially viable to employ specialist personnel, such as operations and training managers, who also help to maintain quality. 'We generate the resources to be able to develop more of a professional management approach,' says Peter Churchley, director of Caring Daycare, which owns seven nurseries.
'The culture of our organisation is child-centred and we have centralised invoicing and administration which allows the nursery managers to manage their team and develop the best quality care for the children.
'A medium-sized regionally focused collection of nurseries can be overseen more effectively than one with a wide geographic spread. The operations manager is then able to spend more of their time in the nurseries rather than in their car.'
High visibility
'We aim to be very visible - otherwise how could we assess what is needed?'
says Sue Watson. But it is not just the directors who are easily recognised in a medium-sized chain, staff can also benefit.
'We have had staff who have gone to a larger organisation and come back because they prefer it here,' says Sue. 'They feel that they are seen when it comes to opportunities for promotion or bonuses. We have around 130 staff and they feel part of a whole and feel appreciated. Most of the staff have visited the head office and they all know my husband and myself. We want to be approachable and they know that they can phone up to query their salary, ask about a procedure or use resources. It is powerful for them.'
Anne de Zoysa, managing director of Bringing up Baby, agrees, 'I believe people like working for a smaller company because they feel they can be heard more easily. There are not various lines of communication that need to be gone through to have a conversation with the MD. Everyone can put their views forward.'
Nursery managers also tend to have good links with all their fellow managers in a medium-sized chain and get to know each other through regular meetings. At Bringing up Baby, managers' meetings are rotated around the five nurseries so that they are all familiar with the other premises.
Puffins' Rosalind Taylor says, 'The managers meet once a month to discuss issues. They also support each other by e-mail and phone, such as if they have a number of staff members off sick they can ring and ask another member if they have any spare. The cover person then knows the nursery, the standards and how we operate, unlike getting in agency staff.
'It helps staff retention that they know us all at management level, know each other and work in each other's nurseries. It is like a big family and there is a lot of cross-fertilisation of ideas.'
But, says Anne de Zoysa, a disadvantage for staff working in medium-sized chains can be that promotion is less rapid. She says, 'Managers stay on for a long time so we need to find other ways to motivate and advance people.
But this is not a major problem because the input of new ideas is fed through easily.'
Close contact
Parents can also prefer medium-sized nursery chains, as opposed to large ones, because they are reassured by having contact with the directors.
'Parents know who to ring if they have got a problem - they ring me. They do not have to deal with an anonymous office,' says Rosalind Taylor.
But Kevin Collins says parents can be wary of any nursery group. 'Parents have moved against larger nursery groups due to the recent adverse publicity - mums and dads read the newspapers as much as everyone else,' he says.
'Even as a medium-sized group parents have needed a lot of reassuring that the eye to detail that they would get at a stand-alone nursery is still there. They also want to know that their requirements will be listened to.'
At Caring Daycare parental input is encouraged through Parent Link groups at each of the nurseries. They are made up of parent representatives from each age group, the nursery manager and the director. Peter Churchley says, 'We meet four times a year to discuss standards, procedures and seasonal events. Parents' involvement is important to us and strengthens the sense of individuality for each nursery.'
The nurseries certainly are individual. They range from a 100-place, modern purpose-built nursery to historic converted barns. One setting is in 10 acres of woodland and is also home to a range of animals, including Shetland ponies, goats, a cow and donkeys.
It is this sense of individuality that many of the medium-sized nursery chains regard as key to their success. 'The nurseries in some of the bigger groups all look the same, even the buildings are the same. Our buildings are each different and all the managers have their own stamp on their nursery and a different personality,' explains Rosalind Taylor.
'We do have matching uniforms, corporate goals and a group identity, but it is children that we are working with. When something crops up that fires the children's imagination, staff will drop everything and do that. They could not respond so well if there was a rigid operational plan.'
Taking care
Having many more nurseries could involve imposing much stronger boundaries on the individual settings, something that Anne de Zoysa wants to avoid.
'We are not looking to vastly expand. It has been a slow and gradual expansion since 1989 and unless there is something appropriate that interests us then we are happy as we are,' she says.
'It is a lovely company to manage because I do not feel overwhelmed by numbers. The great motivation to start was the love of children and this has not gone away.'
Rosalind Taylor says they are happy with eight nurseries. 'We want to do what we do properly rather than expand and let standards slip. We are developing in breadth rather than in numbers and concentrating on training, such as aiming to get all Foundation Stage staff up to Level 4.'
Caring Daycare is also taking expansion slowly and has recently been adding one nursery to the group every two years. Another will be taken on this year. Peter Churchley says, 'We do not want to compromise the quality of our existing nurseries. This is achieved by adding nurseries when the right opportunity arises rather than being hellbent on growth for growth's sake.'