Manny & Me, a nanny agency with a focus on tackling gender imbalance in the early years workforce, has teamed up with design-led, serviced apartments start-up Cuckooz.
Cuckooz Nest, the flexible working space with adjacent Ofsted-registered crèche will be opening its doors to corporate companies and freelancers in Farringdon on 1 April. It was set up by Charlie Rosier and Fabienne O'Neill who are the lead partners in the new project.
It will be open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, with the crèche providing care for babies aged up to two years.
Cuckooz Nest, Farringdon Photo Billy Bolton
The crèche is registered for 29 children and at capacity will employ between eight and nine members of staff. Manny & Me aims to have as many men working in the setting as possible.
James McCrossen and Jamie Leith, founders of Manny & Me, said that as well as having a gender balanced workforce, the aim of the new space was to provide fathers with a solution to taking extended time off after childbirth and to raise the uptake of shared parental leave.
‘The collaboration with Cuckooz Nest is an opportunity to tackle two issues head on,’ said Mr McCrossen.
‘One is the fact that we simply need more men in early years care for the benefit of children, and the second is that there is a lack of real time support for parents returning to work or companies offering crèche facilities.’
The crèche will feature a dedicated sleeping room, breastfeeding area, story corner, soft play area and interactive craft wall. There will also be a kitchen and nappy-changing room.
Parents will be offered a choice of payment types, ranging from pay-as-you-go (£23 per hour) to monthly subscriptions (£14.50 per hour).
‘We’re targeting specifically parents with younger children who are transitioning back into work after leave, or freelancers,’ Mr Leith explained.
‘We even have a dedicated parent-crying room for when things get too much. The aim is not just to have a space where parents can work and children be cared for, but the plan is to build a community of working parents who can support each other and grow personally and professionally together.
‘The site is in the centre of London and near many large companies. It is the perfect middle ground for a parent who wants to get back into work and still spend quality time with their child without being in the pressured environment of the office.’
Manny & Me is planning a second, larger site to open in summer 2018, to include half term clubs and tutoring facilities for older children as well as another crèche.
