big childcare franchises versus stand alone centres

Hi Miss Dora, I have worked in private centrers and honestly it was tough (except a minority of private centers). I was payed at minimum wage,I didn't get allowances, the resources were limited, I was dealing with a lot of untrained staff. However when I began working in a "childcare franchise" the conditions and benefits were a lot more. This is just my opinion from my experiences..

You raise some really good points, thanks for posting i appreciate your input!!

Hi Miss Dora, Interesting topic you have posted and I wanted to share what I have experienced during my time working at a "big childcare franchise".

As catchmeifucan mentioned for staff you do get extra benefits that you may not receive at all private childcare centers. But honestly speaking for a big childcare franchise it has its downfalls too…

Paperwork - Because childcare franchises need to ensure that all their centers are the same and of high quality standards there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be completed on top of everything else. There are checklists for everything that need to be completed. Opening/Closing Checklist, Cleaning Checklists, OH&S Checklists, Daily Routine Checklists, Menu Checklists etc.. Now I'm not speaking for all, this is what I have experienced..So I think too much paperwork at times puts you away from the time you actually spend with the children to support their development and education. So it sucks..

Resources - Ok you would think that you will get a variety of Resources because well…basically a bigger childcare franchise can afford it and lay out a budget for Resources… but no this isn’t the case. While I was working at a franchise centre we didn't receive any new Resources. I was constantly told to keep up a wish list of the Resources and Equipment we wanted for the children, however my wish list never came. It still remained as my wish list..Basic necessities such as puzzles, books, textas, paints, blocks… were never purchased. We did have these but it’s the same activities over and over again. The children were getting frustrated and bored. The staff were told that if they bought things for the centre that the amount will be reimbursed into our accounts. But I feel that it's not my duty to purchase toys and equipment...isn't it managements? Also I noticed that the management is more busy arranging for staffs get-togethers, parties and sending unnecessary chocolates, cakes etc..I get it, they are trying to built better relationships between the staffs by introducing these various fancy things to do, but “Where is my resources I’ve been waiting for?” I just think sometimes the managements can put better use of the money they spend on unnecessary things in the centre. I normally don’t see this happening in a small private centre.

Staff/Director- Staff are the same whether you work at a private centre or a big franchise centre. It's the director that is a little different. Typically I find that the directors at a big childcare franchise are young. Now I don't mean 18/19 year olds however I do feel as though some directors aren't experienced enough to be able to manage a childcare centre and a team of staff. Although from what I've witnessed it's not that hard to be a director for a big franchise centre. You have a daily checklist of duties you will need to complete as a director and then of course deal with any parents/child /staff concerns. Now most directors don't work on the floor (with the children) and I think they get paid MORE than required (I don't mean to be rude to any directors.. this is just my honest opinion).

Programming - When I was talking about a lot of paperwork the programming, observations, child observations and portfolios are at the top of the list. These are all so time consuming and there is so much that needs to be done that honestly you end up focusing your time on paperwork than interacting and playing with the kids. Yes at a private centre you do have these to do but it doesn't have to be as complicated as what you do in a bigger franchise centre.

Now I don't want to scare anyone off from working in a bigger franchise childcare centre but there is a lot that happens behind the scenes that others aren't aware of so I wanted to let you know what it can be like. I've worked in both private and childcare franchise and I've come to realize that it's not who owns the centre it's about the staff, families and community you're in. A great deal of private centers are fantastic and if a big childcare franchise were to take over it will lose it's individuality but then there are those other childcare centers who need to take risk by having a larger chain take over in order to see the centre grow!

As for me let's just say I'm happy where I am

Thanks so much for your response, i totally agree with all the points you have raised. I have been at a private centre for 5 years, we have a wonderful community of parents and many long term staff. over the past 3 years we have changed managements and are currently being taken over by a childcare "franchise'. I have slowly watched as our lovely centre has changed to to fall in line with the others, one of the things i love about childcare is the individuality between centres and creating each one to reflect its individual staff and community. i honestly dont like the idea of a franchise but at the same time i hate the thought of having to leave my centre because of it.

I think it depends really, I have never worked in a big childcare franchise but I have worked for 2 private centre.

One was poorly managed, the Director hardly showed up, other staff were left to do duties which were not their responsibilty Eg. I had to show prospective parents around, take fees, deal with complaints etc AND teach my class of children! The management did not take act on any of issues brought to their notice Eg I informed them that a child on his 1st day of toilet training was left standing after he had an accident because the teacher thought "thats how he will learn" he proceeded to get in the sand pit thus contaminating that area ... I spoke to the teacher but she was adament about her method and I had to go behind her back speak to her assistant to quietly make and excuse get the child to come to her and change him

This same member of staff then hurled abuse at me (f word and all) in FRONT of the children and when I went to the Director and Assistant Director they did NOTHING

On the flip side after i left that job and went to another centre the management was wonderful, supportive and always backed the staff up. The person running the place was well qualified had plenty of experience and wanted to do the job. It was a pleasure working there.

So in my opinion its not about "chain childcares" or "private ones" it comes down to how they are run and who is in charge etc