I tried to open an affordable nursery for working mums – it was impossible

As my fellow founder and I opened the doors of our new co-working nursery, I felt like my dreams were coming true.

Watching our first customers arrive, pushing prams laden with laptops, nappy bags and little children, I had no idea at that moment that we would be forced to close the doors just a few years later.

The idea of opening a co-working nursery came to me when I was on maternity leave with my first child. I was self-employed and needed to have money coming in, which meant I needed to return to work after six weeks. 

I wasn’t ready to leave my daughter at a nursery and walk away. I wanted to be near her, to spend time working and witness her ‘firsts’, but nothing on the market seemed quite right for that set-up. 

I was also astounded by the costs and how inflexible it is if you want to work less than a full day. I was looking for childcare at six weeks – many nurseries and childminders would not take such a young baby and the ones that did required minimum two days a week, costing around £200 p/w in London. 

Nannies cost £12 an hour, and most wanted five days a week. It seemed impossible to find a nursery that could work around my self-employed schedule.

The idea for Cuckooz Nest came while struggling to find childcare that worked for me. I wanted to work, but also wanted to be close to her. There were no options, so I held focus groups with parents to gauge the general interest in this idea. 

Cuckooz Nest, my co-working place, was designed to speak to other parents like me – working parents who wanted to benefit from high-quality Early Years education and be there for any big moments while also being able to Zoom call in peace.

The nursery and co-working space were in the same building but had separate entrances, which meant that parents were able to go into the nursery to breastfeed or put their little ones down. We encouraged parents to come to the park with us or read stories during circle time.

If anything happened in the nursery, whether it be a fall or a child taking their first steps, parents could be there in an instant. We created something truly unique. 

In the years that we were open, we helped over 500 families, and I can remember every single one of those families by name because we, too, were a family. The relationship between practitioners and parents was incredible.  

For parents to book in, we kept it very flexible. We offered a four-hour session per week for approx £36 – everything could be booked on-demand with just 48 hours’ notice. And for parents, the workspace was charged at £20 per day.

I’ll never forget when Boris Johnson announced the first lockdown due to the pandemic. We didn’t yet know it, but that was the beginning of the end for our beloved nursery. Initially, we battled against it, with furlough and hope, along with the rest of the country, that this would all blow over in a few weeks, but we lost 90% of our families in those first few months. 

Even when the doors eventually unlocked and we were all allowed out socially again, nurseries were slower to return to normal. We were able to get to 70% of capacity with new families coming to us, but sadly it just wasn’t enough to keep the nursery afloat. 

The reality is that Covid wasn’t the sole cause, but it was been the last nail in the coffin for many settings, and it was the case for us. With one of the most expensive childcare sectors, the UK is forcing many parents to decide whether they can afford to work or not based on whether they can afford childcare. 

It was early April 2021 when we closed the doors to our nursery for the last time. The realisation that we had no choice but to close the business came while I was working from Cuckooz Nest. Surrounded by the familiar sounds of children playing and people tapping away on their keyboards, we came to the end of the road in discussions with our landlord about our lease and rent. 

Telling everyone that we would no longer exist was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. 

I had made a point of being transparent with everyone for several months prior, so it was not a shock. Staff knew we had been impacted by Covid – it was hard to hide as we didn’t have any children attending. We notified parents with a letter but then made ourselves available for calls/meetings for anyone that wanted to chat.

We gave both staff and parents at least one month’s notice and also provided discounts, which I had negotiated, at local nurseries. In the case of staff, I had also lined-up interviews for them all.

I felt a sense of failure that we couldn’t survive; a huge sense of loss for the staff and the families, and a personal loss of a nursery for my daughter and a uniquely flexible way of managing her upbringing and my job.

The childcare sector is on its knees. Our nursery closure is now just one of the many thousands taking place, often at incredibly short notice across the UK. It’s a terrifying time and one that can only be solved by increased funding from the Government. 

Childcare in the UK is priced as a luxury when it is essential. As we find ourselves in a cost-of-living crisis that is rippling uncertainty across the strongest of industries, nurseries that have limped on through underfunding and the pandemic are now dropping like flies. 

I launched my new business, Babbu, the UK’s first online nursery, almost six months ago. I genuinely believe a huge shift needs to happen in the childcare sector, and I hope Babbu is part of the revolution. 

Babbu provides over 1,000 tailored activities for you and your little one to do from the comfort of your home. There’s an amazing variety of activities, including Montessori, Forest School and mindfulness, to explore each week. Plus, trustworthy expert content supporting the parents is delivered exactly when you need it.

Our curriculum covers seven areas of learning and encourages diversity, inclusivity and a love of nature from birth. We supply weekly content that follows your child’s learning journey and adapts to their preferences.

My focus now is putting the tools, resources and expertise seemingly reserved for the ‘nursery elite’ into the hands of families everywhere, for everyone navigating this journey with very little support. 

Babbu is about growing a new village at a time when the Early Years’ support is needed more than ever before.

I want to democratise access to Early Years education, so all children are afforded the same opportunities and the best possible start in life. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]. 

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