How to Become a Childcare Provider

Elliott Fudge, writer

Published at 23/07/2021, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 5 min

How to Become a Childcare Provider — Photo © How-to-Become-a-Childcare-Provider.jpg

Working in the childcare sector can be one of the most rewarding career choices you’ll ever make. If you’re looking to run your own childcare business and enjoy a high level of job satisfaction and profitability, here’s what you’ll need to become a childcare provider.

Unlike many other industries, the childcare sector has been largely untouched by the pandemic. There’s always a need for childcare providers, and there’s always people willing to work in childcare.

There are around 59,500 childminders, 23,500 day nurseries, 9,600 preschools and 15,000 out-of-school childcare organisations in this £7.5 billion sector. As many childcare providers work in the public sector, this industry is largely recession-proof, making it an ideal opportunity for many people.

What is a childcare provider?

The primary role of a childcare provider is to, obviously, look after young children. Depending on what kind of provision you choose to specialise in, you could be caring for children from the age of six weeks to the age of 13. You could also be specialising in anything from daycare, to in-home care, to babysitting.

You’ll certainly need to love working with children and early years learners, but as a franchisee within the sector, you’ll also need to have a number of other skills on-hand to make the process of making a career change a smoother process. As such, here are a few key tips for skills you should look to have.

Good organisation
A positive attitude
Resilience and perseverance
Good management
Excellent communications skills

As a franchisee in the childcare industry, you can expect to be one of the key individuals involved in the day-to-day running of your business. You’ll also be expected to be responsible for maintaining very high health and safety measures, up-to-date working practices, and any other management tasks as needed.

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How do you become a childcare provider?

Working in childcare will be unlike many other industries, as this sector is surrounded by quite tight regulations. As such, there are a few things you’ll need beforehand to get started in childcare.

Qualifications: As you can imagine, there are a number of important qualifications and tests you’ll need to pass before you can get started. To stand out in this industry, you should ideally have some kind of childcare or early years education certification. Then, you’ll need to pass a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Although it might be frustrating at first, these are small, but important pieces of legislation designed to keep children safe and happy.
Experience: Many childcare franchises won’t require you to have previous experience before opening your childcare business. However, if you have some previous experience in other roles, it’s worth noting down which skills you’ve gained and how they could help you. Having a diverse background can actually be an advantage to many franchises, so be sure to have a list of skills and experiences you already have.
Working to a budget: Demand for places far outstrips the total number available, so there are a number of government grants and funding options that can help you start your childcare business. Before setting out your franchise plan, be sure you know how to finance your project. Some, or maybe all major project costs will be set out by your franchisor, but some may also come from a grant. If this is the case, make sure you’re comfortable working to budget.
Be aware: There are a number of different types of childcare and childcare provision, so make sure you know the difference and overlaps between each one. You’ll need to be flexible whichever option you choose, but make sure that you’re confident and aware of each of the different specialisms and strengths that you’ll be working to.

Franchise opportunities in the childcare sector

While there may be a few things to consider before you start your childcare business, having a franchisor’s backing could help give you the boost you need to get started. If you’re looking to start your own childcare business from scratch, you’ll have to jump a lot of hurdles and overcome challenges that will inevitably come your way.

However, should you choose to operate as part of a franchise, you’ll have a considerable amount more in the way of support. For example, if you become a Banana Moon franchisee, you’ll be able to build your own successful day nursery under a trusted brand name.

Your childcare franchise will have friendly knowledgeable staff, sophisticated CCTV security, biometric entry systems, full air-conditioning, high-quality dietary provisions, and a lot more. You’ll also receive plenty of support, guidance and advice even after you’ve opened your doors.

If you’re more interested in running before and after school clubs, Sherpa Kids offers a range of pre and post-school clubs, as well as holiday activities, for primary school children. As a Sherpa Kids franchisee, you’ll offer safe, engaging, fun and activity-based programmes ranging from arts and crafts, to sport, to cooking.

You’ll attend a 7 day training programme that will cover everything you need, including technical operations and business management. Ongoing training, mentoring and coaching will also be available to you. On top of all this, you’ll have a complete operations manual giving you useful instructions on everything from regulatory compliance, HR, marketing, administration, business operations, finance, on-site policies and procedures.

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Invest in the childcare industry and enjoy huge job satisfaction

By working in the childcare industry, you’ll become part of one of the most rewarding sectors out there, and with the right business model in place, it can also be highly profitable. By choosing to open your childcare business as part of a national franchise, you’ll be able to enjoy all the benefits of job satisfaction with a low-risk business model in place.

There are plenty of options in the childcare sector and if you’re looking for childcare franchises that are as entertaining as they are profitable, you’ll certainly be in luck by working in this industry. Or, if you’d like to see the full range of franchise opportunities, you can consult the UK franchise directory.