Kiddy Creche reviewed

Kelly Miller opened Kiddy Creche in July 2010, following a career as a financial adviser and more recently as a marketeer in the football industry.

The crèche is certainly a change of direction in terms of career, but the firm has enjoyed a solid start to 2011. Confidential caught up with her to talk child care and painting walls at 3am.

DM: How did Kiddy Creche happen and what was your inspiration for the business?
KM: I have a seven-year old girl and I know from personal experience how hard it is to get childcare as and when you need it. My family live in Wales, which is where I’m originally from, and so getting a babysitter who I trusted was hard without the support of my immediate family. The idea came to me when I was on holiday last year and I put my plan into action as soon as I landed back in the UK

DM: How did you get from an idea to an actual up-and-running business?
KM: A lot of hard work. I went through the normal channels and the nursery is Ofsted registered. Firstly, I applied for planning permission. The council were brilliant and very supportive of my idea. That took about eight weeks. As soon as I found the location, I then registered with Ofsted which was finalised in twenty weeks. I didn’t get any funding, it all been money out of my own pocket. It’s been hard at times and I’ve had to juggle my priorities as to what gets done first. I’ve been painting walls until 3am just to save money, so it’s been crazy. I’ve had so many ideas but have had to rein them in and get the important things done first. Once I have the business where I want it, I can start to introduce more facilities, like weekend opening, dance and drama classes and private birthday parties.

DM: Was there any point when you regretted your decision?
KM: I was working so hard and I also had to battle with an illness. In November I began to wonder whether I’d done the right thing. But I picked myself up and carried on. Since January we’ve been doing really well; we’re so busy, it’s great.

DM: What do you think makes your business stand out?
KM: We run a full nursery and pre-school. Children can be booked in for a full day or half a day, depending on what parents need. A full day costs £40 and its £22 for half a day. There’s no contract and you don’t have to pay a deposit. Children in the pre-school can get government funding (15 hours free for children from three). The nursery is well equipped and we’re very fortunate to have the park just around the corner, which we take the children to. You can’t miss them as they all have Kiddy Creche jackets on. The nursery also runs the crèche facility.

DM: And what about staffing?
KM: All the staff are properly-qualified, have been CRB checked and have all worked in the child care industry. We have eight full-time staff and 10 in total. I’m flexible with my staff and they are fantastic; very loyal and hard working. The most important thing is that they love children and that that comes across.

DM: How does the crèche facility work?
KM: Parents can drop their child in for anything from an hour to all day. We charge £5 an hour. It’s that simple.

DM: Who uses this service?
KM: Mostly local people but we do have a couple of parents who travel to use us. One of our regulars comes from the south and uses the crèche when she visits friends in Manchester. They use it for meetings, appointments and even shopping. The feedback so far has been really positive. We’ve got a few footballers who use us regularly.

DM: And what does the future hold?
KM: Our website goes live in three weeks. I just want people to enjoy using our service and build on our reputation. I’ve also got my sights set on a larger property for the future, one that is big enough to house my countless ideas. I’m looking in between Wilmslow and Alderley Edge.

Kiddy Creche
40, Parsonage Green
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 1HT

OPEN: Available 7am – 7pm
Monday - Friday