Child friendly coworking space - would you use it?

[80sLoz]

Hello everyone, based on my own experiences and challenges of being a single, full-time working mum, I'm thinking of starting a child-friendly coworking space. I want it to be more than just desks and Wi-Fi - but a space for connection and community for us parents doing the same juggle. It seems there are very few cowork set ups like this in the UK. I've done a short survey but not sure if I'm allowed to share here... general thoughts most welcome though - is it a good idea? Would you use a space like this? What would make it valuable to you? Thanks so much 🙏

There was one in my neck of the woods, called Peace & Riot. It shut. I never went, but from what I read: there were workspaces, there was a cafe, there were "peacekeepers" to engage the kids in activities while parents worked. Possibly some (child free) evening events too.

My own kids would never venture more than 2m from me if I was in a cafe serving food they'd want to eat, so that struck me as the main downside. And the expense, because Dulwich.

I think something like this could work, but it's very difficult to get right.

I imagine the insurance (P.I) would be quite high. Who's going to be responsible for these children? I can see accidents happening as mum's are distracted on their computers!

No, not even tempted by that a little bit. I can’t begin to imagine how being in a space with multiple adults and multiple kids would be more conducive to doing a desk based job than being at home in a quiet environment with just my one child. Working with my child around isn’t ideal but it would be far far more difficult with the chaos of loads of them.

I think this might appeal to some people but not sure enough people have jobs where you can also care for a child.
would this only appeal to self employed people? What employer allows their staff to care for a child at the same time as working

I wfh and think this sounds fantastic - especially for people with young children

Do employers allow people to parent while working, and have screaming kids in the background on calls? It must be quite rare.

I'm not sure i understand the proposal correctly....

I do know a few people who work at home with kids around sometimes.. so this set up would mean that instead of working from their own home and sticking kids in the garden or in front of the tv. they would instead travel somewhere else and then be paying to work in a communal space with their own kids plus other people's kids?! This sounds like a nightmare.

You need to explain the concept because I cannot picture a working model from the very little you've said.

Sorry op I still have nightmares about trying to do my own job whilst juggling the needs of a bored six year old in lockdown. No way would I want to return to that, plus as others have said…if you’re doing childcare you’re not working.

or do you mean that there’s a staffed crèche in the room next door so you can visit on your break?
that might work although coming and going could prove quite unsettling for your little one?

Wow! I honestly wasn’t expecting such a huge reaction, but I really appreciate everyone taking the time to share thoughts and vote. Whether people love the idea or not, every comment has already helped me think more deeply about what this kind of space really needs in order to be helpful.

I can totally see that noise and practicality are huge concerns, especially when we’re all stretched, tired, and trying to do ten things at once. But I also think there are some parents who could really use a flexible, affordable in-between space, even just for a couple of hours a week when your little one isn’t in nursery, or after the school run when you might have bits to finish off before the end of the day.

For context, I’m a single parent who’s worked full-time, and in a hybrid way for years now, and before school started, I used to patch together help from grandparents and just fudge it to make it work. Something like this, even just once a week, could’ve made a huge difference to my energy (and sanity!).

This post has already made me realise that if I do go ahead with testing this idea in a small way there's lots to think about. E.g. it’ll need a clear quiet zone, maybe limited numbers, and maybe I need to think about age range. Also to ensure it’s promoted as part-time, ad-hoc use, not as a full childcare replacement. Whatever happens next, I’m really grateful to you all for helping me shape my thinking so early 🙏

is it a good idea?
No

Would you use a space like this?
Never

What would make it valuable to you?
It either being a working space (for work) or a child-friendly space (for play). Can't fathom how it could be both, unless your work is childminding.

Well of course you need to limit numbers, OP.

Have you ever run a creche? Because that's what you'll be doing. It's a creche with quiet workspace attached.

And running a creche is not easy. You've got to employ a roster of people, they've all got to have DBS checks, you'll be running a payroll, including NIC, pensions and holiday pay, you'll have rent and business rates to pay, you'll need marketing and social media marketing. And btw - you'll need your roster of people to actually turn up and be dependable.

You'll need to register with Ofsted, if you're going to have more than four children at a time. You'll need to organise activities for them, and ensure allergies are not affected by any snacks they might bring.

It's a nightmare OP. Don't do it.

I also think there are some parents who could really use a flexible, affordable in-between space, even just for a couple of hours a week when your little one isn’t in nursery, or after the school run when you might have bits to finish off before the end of the day.

Is that place not called home?

How is it adding anything worth paying for, unless it's actual childcare i.e. a creche/after-school club and (very) separate space for adults to work i.e. coffee shop? I don't see how that could be done affordably - for the owners as much as for the users, plus all the red-tape when childcare is involved.

It might be worth looking at the model for Jago’s house which has an ad hoc crèche on site, co-working spaces, as well as a gym. It’s not cheap, but seems to be in high demand.

But why wouldn’t they just work at home before & after school though? At least then it’s only the noise from your own kids you need to deal with!

@80sLoz i'm always interested in business models so I looked up the place in Dulwich that someone else mentioned

That looks as if it was operating mostly as a café

You would need to consider how you operate as well as your target market. If it's going to be more of an in-between space then maybe it doesn't need to be a workspace. Or you could just have a quiet zone.

But you also need to think about how people would or wouldn't commit to use of the space. My feeling is you would actually need people to book and pay. Looking at the Dulwich place, it looks as if they had memberships but also drop in availability. As it's no longer running, I'm going to think that's probably because it didn't work well enough.

I can't see how your idea of ad hoc would work. Your set up costs would be really high for a start. The legal stuff on its own is a mission.

If you tried to run a model that was more about building a community, then I don't think it could be a workspace.

And I don’t see how a quiet zone would work if there are babies and toddlers in the same room because crying and tantrums will happen and they’re loud!

Hell no, terrible idea unless you’ve got an onsite crèche so that people could do things like work and breastfeed or offer more flexible arrangements than a nursery.

Also utilities, OP. Young children need to be kept warm all year round. So think about electricity. And daily cleaners - hygeine is very important.

And at some point, a baby is going to have a vomiting bug that it passes to all your workers, and the other children. Or vice versa.

You'll also have a rubbish collection issue, for all the dirty nappies.

Jesus Christ, I want to get my own kids as far away as possible and as gainfully entertained by someone else as possible while I work. The absolute last thing I'd be willing to subject myself to is my own plus other people's.

The numbers won't add up. The people mad enough to go for this are broke, and nobody will want to pay for childcare PLUS co-working space when they could pay for childcare and stay at home.

You still haven’t clarified what kind of space you are talking about. Is it a nursery with offices for rent next door? So there are child care workers to do the actual watching and caring for the children while the parents work?

Is it just a playroom with desks around the outside?

What is this magical place where parents can work with their children?

You cannot run a business off "part time, ad hoc". You'd need as many all day every day customers as you could get to make it vaguely financially viable. And I really can't see any reason why someone would come in for part time, ad hoc working with a child when it would be easier and cheaper just to stay at home.

There’s a new play cafe/workspace opening near me which sounds like the same kind of vibe. I think it’s going to be a membership structure. I’m curious as to how it would work, if the play area is on a different floor and they have qualified staff supervising while adults work in the designated work space perhaps it might. I like the look of their website, and like the idea of a beautiful play cafe, but I don’t think I could do my role in one, too many teams meetings.

Whereabouts are you, OP? This is a great initiative, but are you aware that quite a few co-working spaces with ofsted rated creches already exist? Or that there is a lot of red tape and very low margins on childcare? There was a co-working space in Brighton that offered childcare and they closed after 6yrs because the margins were just too tight. I think you need to do significantly more research prepare a proper business plan (including detailed financials) before taking this idea any further.

https://freelancernews.co.uk/featured/freelancing-parents-heard-of-co-working-spaces-with-childcare/

https://bsplace.co.uk/