The UK’s only 24-hour nursery – open every day of the year including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day – will be launched next month.
Broadheath Day Nursery in Worcester will be able to look after 60 pre-school age children at any one time when it opens its doors in December.
Parents will be able to leave their children at the nursery in the mornings or afternoons, for a full day or overnight, for just £45 at most.
Its founder, NHS children’s nurse Kathryn Nuttall, believes her unique service will benefit shift workers who struggle to maintain the work-life balance.
‘I have worked shifts all my life, first as a nurse in hospitals and then for the council in children’s services in children’s homes,’ the mother-of-two said.
‘We live in 24-hour society so I can’t understand why there aren’t any 24-hour nurseries. I think only something like 17 per cent of parents work 9-5 nowadays.
Broadheath Day Nursery in Worcester will be able to look after 60 pre-school age children at any one time when it finally opens in December
Its founder, NHS children’s nurse Kathryn Nuttall, believes her unique service will benefit shift workers who struggle to maintain the work-life balance
Parents will be able to leave their children at Broadheath Day Nursery, which was Ofsted-registered on November 5, for up to 24 hours
‘So it’ll be useful to parents. There was one 24-hour nursery in Birmingham, but I understand it is no longer open as one.’
The only prior 24-hour nursery in the UK – Daisycare in Edgbaston, Birmingham, – changed its hours to more conventional ones two years ago.
Parents will be able to leave their children at Broadheath Day Nursery in day or overnight periods any day of every week.
Morning (8am to 1pm) and afternoon sessions (1pm to 6pm) cost £25 each, while full days (8am to 6pm) are £45 and evenings (6.30pm to 9.30pm) are £22.50. The overnight rate (9.30pm to 7.30am) also costs £45.
Though Ms Nuttall, 36, has worked hard to ensure the upstairs bedrooms offer a ‘home from home’ experience, she has faced criticism from sceptics who fear the 24-hour environment may be harmful to early child development.
To provide even more flexibility to families, it will cost parents the same to leave their children overnight as it would for just a morning or afternoon
Broadheath Day Nursery in Worcester will be able to look after 60 pre-school age children at any one time when it finally opens in December
‘A lot of people are saying it is not going to work but I’m going to try my hardest to make it work. They’re saying that because other nurseries have set sessions, say 7.30am to 3.30pm, for instance,’ Ms Nuttall said.
‘I’m obviously being flexible for parents between 8.00am and 6.00pm but there’s no minimum requirement, and the overnight price is the same as the day price. No one is paying for the luxury of the overnight care.
‘I did all the work myself. I’ve painted the walls, drilled everything in and done everything else. I have picked the contents for this nursery from shops locally to kit it out and, obviously, I’ve employed a manager and staff.
‘Staff will work shifts. They’ll be a manager working overnight. I’m registered with Ofsted and following its guidelines of course.
Its founder, NHS children’s nurse Kathryn Nuttall, believes her unique service will benefit shift workers who struggle to maintain the work-life balance
To provide even more flexibility to families, it will cost parents the same to leave their children overnight as it would for just a morning or afternoon
‘I’ve probably worked the last ten New Year’s Eves in my past jobs so I feel it is important the nursery is open all the time, 365 days a year. Parents still have to work these days so it is important to be around the clock.
‘I’d love to branch this idea out to other places. I can’t understand why no one has done it before, and there’s definitely a need.
‘I would have stayed in my previous job had I had childcare like this.’
Jumaimah Hussain, a childcare practitioner, warned: ‘Babies and toddlers in particular, need a healthy routine to be able to meet their full potential.
‘Babies are born to be very dependent on their parents, and a lack of physical contact can impact on both their physical and social development.
‘It’s important that parents should only call on these services in time of desperate need and as a last resort for childcare.’