Sunflowers Neighbourhood Nursery
Category
Care
With support from The Co-operative Enterprise Hub, this successful nursery in Braunstone, Lecestershire, was able to expand to offer more childcare places and secure a more sustainable future.
The nursery provides day-care for children from 8am to 6pm, five days a week, 51 weeks a year. It is available for children aged three months to five years old. Starting out in 2005 with 32 places, the nursery now offers 74 childcare places, all of which are filled.
The nursery was awarded ‘Outstanding’ in every category of its January 2010 OFSTED inspection, with the inspector commenting that it was only the second organisation to score so highly in her 20 years of experience.
The co-operative nursery was set up in 2005 by a group of residents in Braunstone with encouragement from the local Surestart scheme, which had identified a desperate need for more affordable childcare in the area.
In 2010, Sunflowers approached The Co-operative Enterprise Hub for further advice. The co-operative advisers who had helped with setting up the nursery returned to provide ongoing support on behalf of the Hub
Gary Blockley, manager of Sunflowers, said: “The Hub provided us with a five-year review of the business, as well as working with us on governance and membership. We also received support on increasing the sustainability of the nursery. If anybody else was looking into doing something similar to us, I would recommend you tap into the resources that can be available to you. You should prepare yourself for some hard work, but it is worth it.”
Sunflowers holds monthly meetings which are open to staff, parents and any other stakeholders.
Gary Blockley believes that the co-operative structure worked for them, because it allowed the members and parents to be involved in making important decisions, especially about the day to day running of the business.
HOW WE HELPED
- We helped by providing a five year review of the business
- We assisted the business with advice about governance and membership
- We offered advice to the nursery on how to become more sustainable
Tim Tavener, the Hub adviser, said: “Sunflowers has done very well indeed. It has exceeded our expectations. It is a fantastic example of people who, whilst they may not have business experience, have plenty of ideas on how a good co-operative business should be run, and have put these ideas into practice, ending up with a success.”
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