Coworking and nursey under one roof

[mikadavid]

Hi everyone,
I’m a mum myself, and after a tough 9 months of juggling a baby and work (often in cafes with my laptop half-closed and snacks flying everywhere), I’m exploring an idea for a space in Leeds where parents can get stuff done or just sit down with a hot drink, all while their little ones are being cared for nearby.
Think: Montessori-style nursery next door, calm coworking desks, short yoga sessions, no judgment. I’ve set pilot sessions at £20 for 2 hours, but longer-term it’s more of a membership model (around £110/day for full use).
Would something like this appeal to you?
What would make it actually work for your life? What would you want included or excluded?
You can be totally honest, I’m not trying to sell, just test if it’s worth building.
Thanks so much 💛

I love the idea, as someone who WFH for my own company and cares for 2 young DC

I'd be keen to have somewhere that I can use as a desk w/ internet that isn't too noisy, so I can make calls - and then be able to see my DC through a window (is that a bit mental?!)

Basically, as youngest is not yet talking, I'm not personally happy putting her into nursery yet, but feel like the above is the best of both worlds

I'd probably do 3-4 hours a day, 4 days a week, but would be put off by high rates

Basically, as youngest is not yet talking, I'm not personally happy putting her into nursery yet, but feel like the above is the best of both worlds
I'd probably do 3-4 hours a day, 4 days a week, but would be put off by high rates

@mikadavid And this is essentially your problem, people want it, they just aren't willing to pay for it.

I'm not sure I can quite imagine the place you're imagining. I don't think you can mix ad hoc and day-long care like that - drop-in places like gym creches are chaotic with lots of upset children etc. I don't think it's fair on anyone to have that also be some children's regular care setting. And I'm just not sure there's a market at the prices you'd have to charge. Lots of people on this thread are saying they'd pay £20 for 2 hours - of course they would, that's a pittance, but some really basic maths around the cost of employing people on even minimum wage makes me really doubt that would be a viable price for you to charge.

It would also be a much less attractive place to work than a regular nursery - and they struggle enough to find staff as it is.

I'm going to defer to others regarding the practicalities and bussiness-related questions; but I just wanted to come and say: what a great, wonderful idea! I really hope you go on with it, and may it be a great success!

Lovely idea but I wouldn’t pay anywhere near £110 a day for it personally so if that is the price that would make it affordable it would be a no from me.

To be honest, I love the idea of co-working but it's a luxury I probably wouldn't pay for when working at home is free.
If it was an added extra with childcare I was going to use anyway that would be great.

There is a gap for as hoc or less rigid childcare for flexible workers and shift workers, we had this problem but found a great privacy nursery near a hospital that would accommodate shift work, we just booked our days a month in advance. It's a tough business model to make work though as it's not reliable and challenging to staff. Sometimes they couldn't accommodate our requests. We didnt use funded hours and moved to a school nursery when funding kicked in.

It's been tried, and nobody's found a way of making it work financially. Childcare is a difficult business to make run at a profit as it is, when you know how many kids and how many paid hours you have in advance.

So overall is this an informal dropping in for a short period of time ad hoc thing or actual regular childcare, would you envisage people regularly bringing their children? Nurseries work because they have a set number of children on set days and can plan their staffing (the most expensive thing) accordingly. You have to be able to cover the minimum staff:child ratios and meet their needs - so e.g. for under 2yos you need at least one member of staff for three children, 2yos it's 1:5 and 3yos plus it's 1:8. Those different age groups would usually be cared for in separate rooms or groups, nurseries would have a baby room, a toddler room, a pre-school room. You can't have non-walking babies in a room with rambunctious 4yos. And under EYFS children should have free access to outside space, or regular daily trips to an outside space.

If it's all very ad hoc I just can't quite picture how you'd have a baby room space and staff for that baby room but you don't know if you'd even have any under 2yos that day. How would you decide how many staff to have that day if you have no idea if you'll have any kids at all or 20 ranging from babies to 6yos, staying from all day to half an hour.

@mikadavidLike the another poster I am also a childminder. I agree with them that although you get lots of parents wanting adhoc, the majority are not willing to pay for adhoc service which needs to be more expensive than one where you can expect money at the same time each week. In the childcare profession we often joke that people are happy to pay their dog walkers and cleaners lots of money but not those that look after their children. There is someone in a neighbouring area doing something like this for £65 per 3 hours - includes care and cowork space. It is a fully registered nursery and just about to open. I wonder if it will work. I hope it does as I’m all for different types of childcare - just properly funded ones.