Developing a Childcare Centre:
What You Should Know Beforehand

In today’s blog post we will be focusing on developing a childcare centre and the things you should consider before making the decision to develop, and whether the benefits of developing your own centre are greater than buying an established centre. Like starting any business from scratch, there are things you can do to limit your risk and set your business on a path towards success. Below we will touch on some of those things. If you are interested in more tailored advice, please feel free to contact the team at Diane Krywyn Real Estate and we will be happy to assist you.

1. Strategic Planning

The first thing you need to do is research and come up with a plan for your childcare development. In the Department of Social Services ‘ Guideline for the Planning and Development of Child Care Facilities’ they provide some insights into the things you need to take into account:

‘The following questions may help build an understanding of the type, location and amount of child care the community requires: How many children and of what age live in the local government area? How is this projected to change over the next 5 to 10 years? How many and what type of child care facilities currently operate in the area? How many and what kind of places do the facilities provide to children of what age? What are the parental preferences for childcare in the area e.g. do they prefer large or small facilities; does location close to work, home or transport matter?’

2. Locating a Suitable Site for Your Development

Deciding on the location for your childcare centre development will be one of the most important decisions you will make and will have a great impact on how successful your business can be. Here are five questions to ask yourself when looking for a suitable development site:

• What are the demographics of the area and what is the existing and future demand requirements?
• How many childcare centres are already in the area?
• Is the site conducive to a childcare centre?
• How big is the block and how many children will be able to accomodate it?
• Will it satisfy council regulations?

It is also important to remember when looking for a site is that it must have safe vehicular drop-off zones and safe pedestrian access, so the land must be big enough and in a sensible location to accommodate these requirements. For more information contact local councils, town planners, engineers, traffic consultants etc. who will be able to help you with these details.

3. Centre Design

There is not much advice we can offer in terms of centre design as this is something for architects or draftsmen to assist you with, but you should keep in mind the staff to children ratios when designing the children’s rooms. It is also advisable to employ the services of architects or draftsmen who have prior experience designing childcare centres.

4. Funds /  Self Sufficiency

The final thing that you will need to take into account when developing a childcare centre is the level of capital you will require, not only when planning and building the centre, but when the centre is up and running in those early stages. A general rule of thumb is that you should have enough funds to cover operating costs for a minimum of 12 months as the centre grows and establishes itself. One thing that could help minimise the reliance on your on your own funds is to heavily market the centre during construction so that by the time the centre is ready to open you already have children enrolled.

In summary, whilst there is more risk involved in developing a childcare centre as opposed to buying an established childcare business, having greater autonomy over all aspects of the centre’s design, location and vision could give you a competitive advantage over other centres in the area. When you decide to sell you also have the option to keep the freehold as a passive investment. But, like everything in life, you have to decide if the risk is worth the reward.

We hope that by reading our post you are more knowledgeable about childcare development beforehand. If after reading this post you are not sure whether developing a childcare centre is right for you and would like to buy an established centre instead, please read our guide on buying a childcare centre where we provide some information on the buying process and what to expect. Thanks for reading!