I always refer to myself as an accidental business woman. It
wasn’t an especially thought through process and I didn’t produce an amazing
business plan before beginning because, if the truth be known, I didn’t realize
I’d end up running a business at all. What started as a low-key venture to
bring in a little extra money has turned out to be a thriving business.
I used to be a teacher. I say used to be as in I used to be on contract. I still keep my hand in with the odd bit of supply teaching, but contract work was just not going to suit my growing family. After I had my third baby the realization of the cost of childcare for 3 children dawned on me. We only had one childminder in the village and she was full to capacity. Nursery care was my only plausible option for my new addition and the cost outweighed the benefits of me working. It also meant my older two, who were at school, would be going somewhere separate to their sister. After much consideration, I decided to hand in my notice.
Giving up my contract was a very difficult decision. I needed to do something, but didn’t know what. When I left the school I was given a voucher for a beauty treatment. It was whilst enjoying a pedicure that I had a light-bulb moment. I am a trained beautician and it dawned on me that it would be ideal to set up a little beauty business from home, offering treatments in the evenings. I suggested it to my husband who was very supportive and within a couple of months I was up and running.
One day a friend asked if I could provide a Pamper Party for her daughter. I loved the idea so set to work on a structure. After carrying out my first party I realized I’d found my ideal job, combining both my skills as a teacher and beautician. I worked on new party concepts and within a few months I was getting bookings for up to four parties a weekend. Although this was ideal in terms of my husband being able to look after the children whilst I was out at parties, the admin became very demanding on my time. I was fortunate that the local childminder was incredibly flexible and would happily take my little one for a few hours here and there. The parties then started coming in for after school when I couldn’t fit them in at weekends. No problem, they just picked up with my little one after school.
A few months ago the childminder had a visit from OFSTED, and after twenty years of caring for children, she decided to give up. In her words, child ‘care’ had somehow got lost in the priorities along the way and paperwork, post-it notes and policies had become the key factor in a successful OFSTED. Believe me, she was fantastic with the children. I would sometimes go along and be welcomed with a cake and flour covered toddler. They had spent time together, interacted with each other and enjoyed just being together. But seemingly that was not enough for OFSTED. I have written a letter to David Cameron asking him whether he could intervene before we lose more great childcarers. I’ve asked him to consider, as a Father, what he would prefer; a file full of sticky notes telling him what his child can do, or someone actually getting down and spending time, interacting with his children.
I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be paperwork and standards. Safeguarding and First Aid for example are vital, but let’s get the focus back to what really counts- quality childcare with the emphasis on ‘Child’ and ‘Care’.
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