4 Tips For Running A Childcare Franchise

Do you want to run your own business in an industry that’s both personally rewarding and financially thriving? A new start running a childcare franchise could be the perfect fit for you. There’s never been a better time to invest, and it’s always a good idea to be considering your career options. This article will put you a few steps ahead of the competition.

If you’ve got the urge to start out on your own business venture and a passion for working with and ensuring the health and wellbeing of children, running a childcare franchise is the smart option. It’s a huge responsibility, but the rewards are great, and there’s no one size fits all with this industry - there’s plenty of different childcare franchises to choose from.

Why start a childcare franchise? 

As life inches ever closer to a return to normal, certain industries are experiencing a boom - childcare is one of them. Offices welcoming workers back in person means the demand for childcare is as high as ever. 

But childcare has always been - and always will be - an important and lucrative industry. In 2017/18, Childcare England gathered statistics that showed the childcare market was worth a staggering £5.5 billion. So, if you think you might be interested in becoming a childcare provider, you can rest easy knowing your financial future is secure.

4 tips for running a childcare franchise

Once you’ve done thorough research on precisely how to make a career change with a childcare franchise and decided it’s the avenue for you, you’ll want to arm yourself with the information you need to stand out from the crowd.

Read on for a few of the top tips on how to kick start your career in the childcare sector.

1. Ensure you have the right skills

Working with the parents of children - and, more to the point, children themselves - is a challenging and varied field of work. It helps to hone your existing abilities to give yourself the best possible chance of succeeding in this business venture - and work on acquiring new skills in areas where you might be lacking.

You’ll find that, through your previous work experience, you’ll hopefully have acquired a lot of the relevant skills already.These skills include:

• Good communication
• Patience, compassion and empathy
• Being organised
• Making decisions
• Problem-solving
• Planning
• Creativity
• Taking leadership

Many franchise opportunities will also provide extensive training and support once you have invested with them, so they will show you how best to adapt your skills to running a childcare franchise successfully.

2. Get the necessary qualifications for your chosen franchise

Whilst some franchising opportunities within childcare won’t always require you to have previous experience in working with children or education, it’s always advantageous. And in a lot of cases, you will require certain qualifications to work in childcare.

To work in a nursery with very young children, it is likely you’ll need to hold a Level 3 qualification, which can be obtained through training or working at apprenticeship level. According to Early Years Careers, some relevant Level 3 qualifications include:

• Level 3 NVQ in Childcare and Education
• Level 3 NVQ in Caring for Children and Young People
• Level 3 NVQ in  Early Years Care and Education
• Level 3 NVQ in Children’s Care, Learning and Development
• Level 3 NVQ in Playwork
• Level 3 Diploma in Playwork (NVQ)
• Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce (Early Learning and Childcare)

Another important step is getting a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, as you won’t be able to run a childcare franchise without one. A basic check will cost £23, while an enhanced check costs £40.

Assuming no issues come up, a DBS check will take around 6 weeks to come through - so it pays to plan ahead and get it sorted as a matter of priority. 

3. Create and follow a clear business plan

If you think you have what it takes to run a childcare franchise, a business plan is definitely needed to ensure your goals are clear and well thought out - and to keep you always on the right path. This can be adjusted and updated as you go along. 

Start out on a new franchising venture with a clear business plan in mind, and you could save your future self from encountering any number of problems somewhere down the line.

The business plan provides a roadmap from which to operate, and to look to for direction in times of doubt. Without a business plan, you may shift your short-term strategies constantly without a view to your long-term milestones. You wouldn’t go on a long driving trip without a map; think of your business plan as your map.
- Dave Lavinsky, Growthink

Your business plan should outline your goals and intentions, but also keep in line with your franchisors expectations and requirements. Part of the initial training process may include assisting you with setting out a feasible business plan that’ll put you straight on the road to childcare franchising success.

4. Choose the right childcare franchise for you

Running a business is always easier when you’ve done your research beforehand and selected the one that suits you best. Childcare is a broad sector, with many different paths branching off of it. Some might interest you more than others, and some might be more suited to your existing skillset and ultimate career goals.

Ensure you’ve done plenty of reading around and thoroughly researched the top childcare franchises in the UK. There’s a wide range of different opportunities on offer, such as:

• Working in a daycare or nursery
• Providing before and after school clubs
• Providing activities for children during school holidays
• Providing tutoring outside of school hours
• Running arts and crafts activities
• Running sports clubs

Make the right decision early on, and you’ll reap the benefits once you’ve got your childcare franchise up and running.

Become a franchisee in the childcare sector and start running you own business today

Bolstered with the knowledge of the top tips above, hopefully you can hardly wait to be your own boss and start enjoying all the advantages of running a childcare franchise. You might help children express themselves creatively with Creation Station, or run clubs outside school hours with Sherpa Kids. 

For these opportunities and even more, explore the UK franchise directory and make an exciting career change today.