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Marketing Strategy To ensure sustainability and growth within its market share

Research and recommendations for Trinity Childcare and Family Centre into its market and marketing for its new setting.

Angela Elniff-Larsen on behalf of the Wales Cooperative Centre 10/17/2011

Contents Chapter Title Page Notes to the report Page 3

The Brief Page 5

Trinity CIC overview Page 5

Method Page 7

Background and Context Page 8

Childcare Research Page 10

Factors Affecting Childcare in Merthyr Page 15

By ward Page 16

Factors affecting the Childcare market 0

Table of Evidence for Trinity’s market Page23

Information from interviews with Buyers/Stakeholder of Childcare

Page 28

Other relevant Information Page 30

Services that can be offered alongside childcare for revenue

Page 40

Appendices Page 41

1. Inception Note

2. Core Communication Principles

3. Delivering your message

4. Managing negative publicity

5. Abbreviations used

2 Marketing Strategy Trinity

Notes to the Report

Childcare, - all types of early childhood education and care provided by aregistered childcare professional, approved childcare professional and throughinformal arrangements.

Registered childcare includes those providers who are providing both early education and care services and who are registered with the appropriate monitoring body.

Within these registered services, early education represents servicesproviding the free, government-funded, early education entitlement for three and fouryear-olds offered by nursery schools, nursery classes, reception classes, preschools, playgroups and childminders who have completed the necessary training.

In addition registered childcare also represents providers who are registered to provide care services such as daycare, childminding and out-of-school provision (before and after school and in school holidays) including those who have registered as part of the voluntary (approved) registration scheme.

Where necessary, a distinction is made in relation to the provision of early childhood education and care according to how it is funded.

Not all childcare provided by professionals is registered care and this includes themajority of nannies (except those with approved status) and much out-of-schoolprovision (although some of it may have voluntary registration).

Only registered childcare can attract support through the childcare element of the working tax credit.

We also refer in the report to informal childcare, typically provided by grandparents,family members and others, and is often used to ‘wraparound’ other types ofprovision.

This care is not formally registered and so is not eligible for state subsidies, although it sometimes involves a cost.


The Brief

The Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Youth and Community Project (AMVYCP) registered Trinity Day Care Centre with the Care and Social Inspectorate for Wales in 2002. Trinity Day Care Centre offers full and part time childcare and support to families with children that reside primarily in the lower part of the Merthyr Tydfil area. The building that they currently operate from (Trinity Chapel) is small and does not provide opportunities to expand the business and their income Trinity have recently secured larger premises which will enable them to increase capacity and services they provide.

Trinity CIC

The Centre has a current capacity to care for up to 38 children per day – 18 within the Crèche and 20 within the After School and Holiday Club. When the centre moves to the former Ynysowen Nursery School they can increase the number of places within the Crèche to 45 per day and to widen the services and programmes they are now offering.

Current staffing consists of 6 full-time, 2 part-time, a cook and cleaner, 2 Future Job Fund Trainees; this includes a Day Centre Manager and Deputy Manager.

The setting will need to increase its staff and management to a more realistic level to accommodate increase in places and provision. There will also be an additional management post of childcare co-ordinator

However capacity is currently constrained by the size of the building which limits the Day Centre’s income generating potential.

It is located in the Merthyr Vale Political Ward which stands on the 7th Septile (the most financially excluded level) and at 522nd of the 10,000 most financially excluded areas in the UK. Unemployment is 7.6% (2001 Census) and the 2001 Census also indicates that there are 486 children aged between one and eight years in the area.

This means that the centre’s capacity for only 18 children limits its penetration of the area to 3.7%.

There is no locally based alternative provider of family services in the area as all other providers are located several miles away in and around Merthyr Tydfil town. This creates difficulty for local families that have limited mobility and finance.

At present The Centre is promoted through a website, has a brochure and organises events and open days. Word of mouth is also an important way of publicising the Centre.

Income generating activities currently provided include: a Crèche, an After School Club, a Holiday Club, rental of the building to local community groups and fundraising activities to support the work of the Centre.


It is intended to establish in the near future income generating activities that include a Mobile Crèche service to support parenting programmes, training events and the possibility of businesses in Merthyr Tydfil.

The services offered are recognised as being of high quality and they meet the most recent regulatory framework of the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW).

The Centre is well supported by the community and significant income is generated from fee based services for them. It is recognised however that ongoing subsidy income is required from public sector sources is still needed.

The Childcare Act says childcare is: “any form of care for a child” including “education or any other supervised activity”, but excluding: Education or activities provided by a school during school hours (above key stage 1 – nursery and reception classes). Care provided by parents, guardians or any other relative given such responsibility. Care provided by a care home, hospital, children or families centre.

Trinity breaks down its childcare portfolio as follows

Children from birth to two years of age Children aged three or four

Children aged five to seven

Children aged eight to ten

Children aged eleven to fourteen

Children with disabilities aged fifteen to seventeen

Childcare is also be defined by type: Day Nursery

Childminder

Pre-school Playgroup

Out of School Club (including holiday childcare provision)

Crèche

Trinity is to setting up its Childcare Business as a social enterprise and as such cannot displace any other private sector provider so in its market expansion it has to take care not to infringe that rule.

Method undertaken to fulfil the Brief. 6 Marketing Strategy Trinity

1. Induction meeting to clarify the brief and ensure it was in line with Trinity’s need.( found at Appendix 1)

2. Review and analysis of information relating to Trinity itself , to its location , to the wider effects of statutory stipulations on the business.

3. The market in which Trinity operates within the County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil,

Possible competitors, suppliers , the demand , demographic geographical factors.

4. Scoping of new markets and services to ensure sustainability

5.SWOT/PEST Analysis

6. Interviews with key stakeholders

7. Interviews with buyers /possible buyers of childcare

8. Recommendations

Additional Communication protocol and policy.

Background and Context 7 Marketing Strategy Trinity

Merthyr Tydfil – the geographical market and its salient factors

The town of Merthyr Tydfil is centrally located at the head of the South Wales Valleys, approximately 20 miles north of Cardiff and 18 miles north of Junction 32 of the M4 motorway, accessed via the A470 dual carriageway.

The A465 Heads of the Valleys road running directly to the north of Merthyr Tydfil provides a link to the Midlands via the A40 dual carriageway and the M50 motorway. Merthyr Tydfil has a direct rail link to Cardiff central station via the Valleys line.

The town is currently the focus of substantial government led investment which has already resulted in new retail premises including a Tesco supermarket in the town centre, plus the main Valleys offices for the Welsh Assembly Government has been moved to Rhydycar ,resulting in the transfer of around 450 jobs from Cardiff and other Valleys.

Merthyr Tydfil is targeted as the retail and commercial centre for the Heads of the Valley region. Although the County Borough itself is small with a low population the town serves a far wider area along the Heads of the Valleys to the north and the mid valleys to the south.

The town centre itself is bordered by residential areas to the east, north and south and to the west by the River Taff.

The town centre contains the administrative offices for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and tax offices to the north with the High Street shopping facilities and St Tydfil Shopping Centre in the central area and residential accommodation in the southern part.

Also at Rhydycar T Mobile has a call centre. The Welsh Government and Merthyr Council have invested in the construction of the Orbit Business Centre. The building provides approximately 30,000 sq ft of managed office accommodation.

Opposite these sites a leisure village has been developed with a cinema, hotel, leisure centre and a number of restaurants and fast food outlets.

To the south of the town at Pentrebach near to the former Hoover factory is the Triangle Business Centre. The business centre is in a predominately industrial area, being dominated by the former Hoover factory where the manufacturing elements have recently been closed by the company.

There is also a small retail park.


To the south of the town centre there are a number of small office suites available, mainly within offices which formed part of manufacturing operations, consequently providing mostly dated accommodation.

There is very little office accommodation within the town centre itself. The existing accommodation with the town centre is mainly dominated by the civic centre and other buildings occupied by the council. The office accommodation which is available is mostly above retail units although there are a very limited number of standalone office buildings. There is a purpose built cluster of office buildings to the north west of the civic centre. The buildings known as Riverside Court were developed in the mid 1990s. Hugh James Solicitors own their office building but have now vacated the accommodation and Merthyr Valley Homes are now tenants.

Outside of the County Borough the nearest office development is at Abercynon and Treforest to the south and Ebbw Vale along the Heads of the Valleys road.

Retail

Merthyr Tydfil is a key regional retail centre for the Heads of the Valleys. According to Experian Retail Ranking, in 2008 Merthyr Tydfil was ranked 230th in the national retail hierarchy and 9th in Wales. The prime retail pitches in Merthyr Tydfil are the St Tydfil Square Shopping Centre and the High Street.

To the west of the High Street, is Beacons Place, which links Tesco to the High Street. To the south of the High Street there is a “Café Quarter”. Merthyr Tydfil has a strong out of town offer with three main Retail Parks- Cyfarthfa, Dowlais and Merthyr Leisure Park.

Merthyr Tydfil offers a variety of food stores comprising Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Asda and Iceland. This provides a strong representation in the area although a number of the ‘big five’ are still unrepresented.

Key sites are:

Merthyr Industrial Park, Pentrebach – note, there is a day nursery already sited there

Other business and industrial sites are:

Rhydycar

George Town

Cyfarthfa

Pant (Dowlais)

Dragon Parc

Abercanaid


MT Leisure Village

Orbit Business Centre

Childcare: background and Research.

Within Merthyr Tydfil there are the following Childcare providers akin to Trinity all who operate to the north or northern edge of the Borough

Funtazia Day Nursery Ltd ( 3 Settings, Gurnos, Pentrebach at the ICC, Dowlais ) ;

Honey Bunnies ( Merthyr College); Pilli Pala Bi-Lingual day Nursery ( Twynyrodyn); Footsteps Day Nursery and Children’s Centre (Merthyr Industrial Park

Pentrebach)

The market for childcare has been assessed by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council (MTCB) through their statutory Childcare Sufficiency Assessment

The following is information from that assessment that may impact on Trinity and its future planning for its new childcare and family setting.

From the CSA

There are certain key indicators that tell us whether demand for childcare should be increasing.

I. Change in overall population (births, deaths and migration)

II. Change in child population (live births)

III. Change in work availability and type

IV. Change in distance of commuting / location of work

V. Change in incomes

VI. Change in childcare costs (including subsidy and assistance)

VII. Change in housing / regeneration

VIII. Change in numbers of people speaking / wanting to speak Welsh

IX. In ward migration

A steady decline occurred in the overall population of Merthyr Tydfil for nearly thirty years prior to 2005. Since this time the population has stabilised and is showing signs of increasing this may however be due to in- migrations as well as increase in Birth Rate.


Live Births

One factor affecting potential demand for childcare is live birth rates. As children become too old to need childcare they are replaced by newly born children. These children will form part of the demand for childcare. It is thus important to understand any variation in the rate of children being born. Figure 1-provides a summary of live births in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough each year from 1996. The figures also show projections up to the year 2015.

Figure 1 Live births by year in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough (Source: Health Statistics and Analysis Unit, Welsh Assembly and 2008-based local authority population)

Figure 1 shows a substantial drop in births from 1996 to 2002. After 2002 the birth-rate picks up again. Children born in 2002 will now be nine years old. A steady increase since 2009 means for each age of child younger than nine there is an increase in the number of children. This will ripple through to an increasing need for free three and four year old educational spaces. It will also lead to an increasing need for childcare provision for younger children generally. As time goes on, there will then be an increased need for before and after school childcare.

Live births level off for 2009 to 2011. Projections from 2011 to 2015 are therefore relatively flat. Anecdotal evidence suggests that birth rates increase at times of economic down-turns. This means that the projections for the next four years may be a slight under estimate


Employment, education and training

Changes in available employment, education and training affect demand for childcare. The more parents in employment, education and training the greater the demand for childcare. This also means that if employment and other opportunities increase, so does the demand for childcare.

Merthyr Tydfil saw a steep decline in employment in traditional industries during the latter half of the 20th century. This resulted in a high level of unemployment and benefit receipt. In turn, this created a low demand for childcare. Over the last decade there has been an increase in employment and training opportunities for various reason for example.

a. The opening of Welsh Assembly Government offices in Merthyr Tydfil

b. The expansion of Cardiff and housing affordability issues have led to people locating to Merthyr and commuting into Cardiff

c. Various WG initiatives targeting skills uplift within various sectors

d. People retraining to access jobs

Household income

Household incomes in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough are below average. Lower incomes will make childcare less affordable encouraging people to find alternatives to paid for childcare.

There are two issues with lower average incomes however: low average income for working families makes childcare affordability difficult resulting in reduced demand, but creating an affordability gap.

Low average income as a result of being out of work will reduce demand as parents are more available to look after their own children.

There is an above average level of economically inactive parents in the County Borough. This could mean a reduced demand for childcare relative to the size of population.

Families accessing Working Families Tax Credit

Working Tax Credits also include a childcare element that parents can claim. Only childcare providers registered with CSSIW can be used for childcare funded or part funded through Tax Credits. Approval by the CSSIW is not dependent upon childcare type, so a wide range of different childcare providers could be registered.


At present 300 families in Merthyr Tydfil are using places part funded through the childcare element of Working Tax Credits. This represents 220 single parent families and 80 other families approximately 34% of all childcare places currently used.

The childcare element of the WFTC is therefore an important factor in helping meet affordability and thereby supporting demand for childcare. Reduction in this support is likely to reduce childcare demand.

From April 2011 the thresholds for Working Tax Credits will reduce meaning that households on middle to higher incomes will be worse off. In addition, the childcare element of Working Tax credits will reduce to 70% of the fees outlined above. This will mean parents finding the money for the additional 10% gap themselves.

The changes that will occur are likely to be a downward driver of childcare demand. If families have less disposable income, but have to use more of it on childcare, this will reduce the numbers able to make use of approved places for childcare through Tax Credits.

The cost of childcare went up by 4.8% last year according to the Daycare Trust. This increase covers the whole of the UK, but there is no evidence that costs increases in Wales have not been similar. Childcare costs are likely to increase further this year. Just over 50% of providers are either definitely going to or may increase their fees. Providers were asked as part of a survey of providers which is available as a separate report as part of the CSA. Increases in fees and future increases are largely due to rising costs of energy, transport, food etc.

To note – the government are looking to make more money available for childcare in various ways and this needs to be monitored to ensure that parents know about this.

Employment and income changes

Average wages have either stood still or decreased in most industries. Overall, incomes have not increased over the past year. This is true for Merthyr Tydfil as it is for the UK overall. Unemployment has increased over the past year across the UK including MTCB. Rising unemployment reduces demand on childcare. Demand will not reduce proportionally however, if these parents go into education or training.

Unemployment reduces demand for childcare. Increasing fees and lower disposable income for parents may widen the affordability gap.

Changes in benefit rules affecting childcare demand

Changes to tax credits

There will be a reduction in the threshold for the childcare element of the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) from April 2011. The childcare element currently pays for 80% of childcare costs, but this will reduce to 70%. On average this will increase childcare costs by £546 per year in the UK according to the Daycare Trust. The


average extra amount that parents in Wales will have to pay is an estimated £472. Parents in Merthyr Tydfil will have to pay an extra £414 on average to make up the gap between the 70% and 80% payment.

There will be changes to Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) in addition to changes to the childcare element of (WFTC). These changes are to the level at which these credits will be paid. Fewer families will be eligible for CTC and WFTC and the amount of credit for those who are eligible will decrease.

Families will get progressively less from 2011 to 2014.

Both of the above issues will make childcare less affordable for parents. This will potentially mean some parents giving up on childcare and some new parents never taking it up. However the Government are looking at ways to mitigate this and have issued guidelines this month for additionally money for childcare for those working under 16 hours.

Child benefit and housing benefit

Child benefit is to be abolished for higher rate tax payers from 2013 reducing their net income. As yet there is no indication as to how this will affect purchasing childcare.

Housing benefit changes will affect income. This will be particularly true for low income families with one or more working parent. It will also be true if the family have more than one child and the eldest child is over 16.This will impact on childcare affordability in addition to static incomes, increasing fees and reduction in tax credits.

Other benefits

Lone parents are to be moved from Income Support to Jobseekers Allowance when their child reaches a certain age. This does not apply if they are receiving certain other types of benefit. Because of the different rules for Jobseekers Allowance this may make it difficult for some lone parents to look after their own child or children. At the same time it may reduce their income impacting on affordability.

Incapacity benefit changes will reduce some parents’ income. This should, in theory, have minimal impact as such people, by definition, should not be working. Parents in need of incapacity benefit may not be capable of looking after their children un-aided.

Changes in Disabled Living Allowance (DLA) may impact affordability. Working parents with a disability can currently get DLA, but some may be impacted by the changes.


Factors affecting childcare demand in wards in Merthyr Tydfil.

There are a number of factors that can influence possible demand for childcare. Some, like a large working population, could drive up demand. Others, like a large population of retired people, will drive down demand.

The following table (Figure 2 lists factors that drive up childcare demand. It is a matrix of factors by ward. Where a factor drives down childcare demand it is shown in reverse in order all measures listed have an upward effect on childcare demand. This makes it easier to see patterns in the matrix.

Figure 2 Factors affecting demand for childcare matrix (Source: ONS Labour Market Statistics, MTCBC, and Welsh Statistics On-line)


Factors affecting Childcare by Ward in MTCB.


The factors shown above illustrate that the wards in the south of the Borough are within a credible market continuum for the services that Trinity will be offering; also they are not at present being well served by a supplier into those services.


Factors Affecting the Childcare Market in Merthyr Tydfil

Most childcare accessed is for employment purposes

Other reasons for using childcare are

Respite

Socialisation

Training

Family Crisis

The main Barriers to using childcare are

cost and the quality of childcare

eligibility for financial help

worry over open access and the safety of their children while at childcare

proximity of childcare provision and preschool is another key driver toward choice of preschool childcare provision

lack of accessible information about childcare provision

general lack of flexible childcare options available to parents-particularly for those in employment

holiday and out of school provision is rare and not flexible

could be extended-particularly for older children

scant provision for disabled children

transport problems

lack of knowledge about what is being offered

lack of knowledge of where to look for information


How do Parents Access Information

Word of mouth is an important source: from family, friends, and health visitors.

From school - if they have other children

From an employer – if they are working and if the employer has any knowledge (this is rare even in larger employers)

From the Internet if they have access and are IT literate

From the Local Authority Family Information Service – if they are aware if them.

Leaflets in Clinics and Pharmacies

Local centres or community hubs, such as the Post office

Issues around Childcare Arrangements

The types of childcare used includes: day nurseries, and, more informally, family and friends. These are often supplemented by preschool groups, play groups, Cylch Meithrin, afterschool clubs and holiday clubs.

The high cost of childcare in the area is a main issue for most if not all who work. This leads to most relying on some childcare help from family members as the cost of formal provision was too high to depend solely on.

Research also shows childcare provision as a rule is not very flexible – especially in respect to cost. For instance, most providers charge by the day, even when parents only require cover for part of it. More flexibility from settings would lead to more use of formal childcare. Settings should be market led on this one but are reluctant to action this. This is a criticism often related to session use. For instance, providers are often very inflexible with respect to arranging how many sessions parents require. Most have to state what they want each week and in some cases parents have to pay for more than they need in order to secure their place:

Provision for shift working is not easily found and often where it is offered it comes at a premium price.

Childcare provision is also not very flexible –in respect to holidays. Many parents with children under the age of 5 rely on pre-school/nursery and crèche provision.


Whilst they use it for more than the school year they do have holidays from work. But often have to pay for 52 weeks of the year.

Opening times at some provision often do not coincide with work needs. Parents who use playgroups and Meithrin find they open after 9am, yet they have to be in work at nine for example. Most of the larger settings in Merthyr are all now open at 8 am and offer at least until 6pm.

Provision of childcare over the school holidays is another issue for working parents. It is often considered this to be their major barrier. Quality of activities offered are often also seen to be mundane and not value for money.

Age grouping is another concern with some age groups having little or no choice in what childcare is available 7-8 and over 11’s are particular cases. The 14+ age group also fall between providers as they are seen as youth not children.

It is not easy to find quality information about the childcare available for disabled children. Parents either have to search for the information themselves or uncover it through word of mouth, as opposed to being provided with it by appropriate sources.

Location and proximity of childcare to the home is regarded as the main driver toward childcare choice i.e. many parents chose the option closest to them.

This is both because of cost, convenience and accessibility.

However those wishing to access Welsh language or disabled or respite options are often happy to ‘go the extra mile’ for their children to have access to targeted childcare.


Table that gives evidence for Trinity’s market Also for reinforcement of evidence to use for bidding /Funding

Views on existing childcare in Merthyr Tydfil – suggestions, improvements

Theme Evidence

Weekend provision High percentage not aware of any weekend provision which would be beneficial.

Provision is definitely needed at weekends especially in the form of specialist one to one care for children with disabilities and over night care.

There is a real lack of provision at weekends.

Over night care See above

Lack of provision – Town Centre

Lack of full day-care and pre-school provision in Town area. Most settings were full and had a waiting list.

Lack of provision – Treharris / Trelewis

More bi-lingual pre-schools, Cylch Meithrin Treharris fills up quickly.

Treharris Playgroups are very crowded. There is little provision in Trelewis area. Parents in Trelewis area often have to access childcare in Caerphilly County Borough.

Childminders in Treharris are unable to meet requirements.

There is no full time childcare at a reasonable cost in the village. Also the high cost of childcare is beyond the budget of many local families.

There is need for holiday childcare provision for children under the age of 8; there are holiday clubs and activities for children over 8 but nothing for under this age. A breakfast club is needed for children who attend the local primary school.

Extended opening hours Shortage of childcare opening after 6pm.


Lack of provision outside working hours.

There is inadequate registered childcare in the evenings throughout the borough, particularly for under 8 years.

Provision needs to be expanded to cover education and training for people who want to up skill before entering employment. There are no evening crèche facilities for people accessing part time courses at Merthyr College.

Flexible childcare Lack of childminders who are Quality Assured.

Wrap around provision needs to be considered in light of changes to Benefits system. Flexibility will be key if lone parents are to be supported properly.

Still a lack of flexible childcare provision that is affordable, locally available and community based.

Information days Information days would benefit families to understand the different childcare options, meet providers and break down barriers.

Lack of provision – holiday clubs / play schemes

Lack of holiday clubs / play schemes for older children. Lack of holiday provision for young people aged over 12 years.

Lack of provision – after school clubs / breakfast clubs

More after school clubs / breakfast clubs needed.

Children with a disability Very little childcare for children with a disability. Some settings do not wish to offer places to children with a disability, which could be a training issue.

Childcare for children aged 7 +

Childcare is needed for children aged 7 + years.

Quality Quality is very good, particularly in terms of activities, meals, environment and staffing.

Lack of choice Limited choice for parents, some area are well populated with childminders, others with Nurseries The demand doesn’t always meet with what’s being supplied.


Location Location is major problem as many parents need pick ups if they are out of area and childcare providers cannot always accommodate.

Lack of Day Nursery A day nursery is needed in Treharris and Pant.

Sustainability In order to eradicate child poverty and improve life chances, providing high quality childcare is essential. However, to maintain high quality childcare has financial implications on settings at a time when sustainability is an issue. Many childcare businesses are finding it difficult to remain sustainable in the current financial climate.

What childcare barriers do clients face and how does this impact on their lives?

Theme Evidence

Cost of childcare / Affordability

Greatest barriers is the high cost of childcare

Lack of pre-school provision Lack of pre-schools places in areas, mean children missing out on “Flying Start” if not living in catchment areas. Pre-school provision is patchy across the borough with some areas having very good services and some areas having none.

Free Childcare Places There are a number of children throughout the borough who would benefit from free childcare as provided by Flying Start programme. Many families accessing childcare in Trelewis access funding for assisted childcare places as they cannot afford to pay childcare fees. As the funding available for assisted places decreases, parents may not be able to pay for childcare, which may have an impact on their ability to gain / sustain employment, and a knock on effect of reducing the income from fees for these childcare provision, which will become less self-sufficient and increasingly dependent on grant aid.


Merthyr Tydfil College – Honey Bunnies Day Nursery

Insufficient number of childcare places for students resulting in students being unable to access place. The College does not fund external childcare.

Work options limited Parent’s practical availability to work is limited as part time / term time work is rare for the amount of parents who have no other available childcare.

If parents are to realistically return to the workforce for part time or full time employment, the number of hours offered by sessional care does not enable them to practically enter the workforce. Increased availability of before and after school provision is required

Affordable, high quality, full time childcare is essential for parents to enter and maintain paid employment or training leading to permanent employment. Trelewis is an area classified as deprived and awarded Communities First status. The Child Poverty Act names parental employment as the best route out of poverty for families. This cannot be achieved without sufficient childcare provision in place to allow parents to work and train.

Life chances limited Without up skilling, people are likely to be able to gain employment in jobs paying the minimum wage or jobs which do not offer progression. This has the effect of moving families from being not working and poor to being working and poor; with all the headaches around childcare to contend with.

Parents can become socially isolated, lack confidence and self esteem thus having a negative impact on their child’s developments and family life.

Families do not have equal chances to access training / work or for the children to have experiences which will enhance their spiritual, physical and emotional wellbeing. It also keeps them within the poverty bracket.

Children with additional needs

Pre-school provision for children with complex needs is often dependent on one to one support which has had funding cut.

Transport Lack of transport to childcare settings limits choice.


Lone parents are unable to commit to working as they have to be available to collect children from school.

Opening Hours Opening hours can be a problem for shift workers when childcare does not start until 9:00am. This then involves working parents arranging for someone else to take or collect their child.

Lack of Holiday Provision The lack of holiday provision for younger children is a barrier. Parents may find it hard to have annual leave, and with the lack of provision it becomes a real problem.

To consider

Parents who are not working are the least effected, but children miss the socialisation which attending childcare provides them with.

And if they have no close family they also miss time out from their children.


Information for the marketing strategy from Interviews with buyers of childcare, employers and professionals

Name Contact Information Action Notes

Laurie Cook

FIS Outreach Worker

Merthyr Tydfil CBC

ICC .Pentrebach Phone 01685 727398. [email protected]

All types of information on all childcare and activity in the Borough.

Ensure all available updates are fed through to you

The ICC thinks very highly of Trinity and the all round support they provide.

Prince Charles Hospital

HR Department

They have to follow tender process. A visit may be valuable to put forward the case for employees living in the south of the Borough.

Use Funtazia

Invite to the opening of the new setting.

Asda Dowlais

Personnel No provision Not a benefit they offer

Tesco Stores

Personnel at Merthyr Tydfil Tesco extra

They offer no childcare info or support. They will be flexible to staff returning after maternity leave

Asked me to send them information.

Orbit Centre

Centre Manager

No facilities Could not even offer a mobile crèche –

may be a business opportunity

Merthyr Business Club

Wendy Locke No provision A place to consider for networking

They are based at the Orbit Centre

Merthyr Tydfil.


Name Contact Information Action Notes

MTCBC HR No provision Visit and discuss publicising on their Intra net

As Trinity is a social enterprise , this should not be a problem

VAMT Office 01685 353900

They do not hold information but do have a member directory which would bring up details of any member offering childcare http://www.vamt.net/membershipfacilities.html

Check member costs and see if it is worth joining to have details recorded

The search I did on childcare returned a nil

O2 HR No provision Post a flyer Not sure if the profile of their staff fits childcare need too be worthwhile

Social services

The department

They refer to settings Invite to launch

Youth Service

Senior youth worker

They deal with young single parents

Invite to launch as you offer family support too

11 - 25, with a key focus on supporting young people aged 13 - 19 as they transition through into adult hood

MTHA 01685 352800 Office manager

They offer no advice and have no provision

MT College

http://www.merthyr.ac.uk/nursery

01685 726000

Honey Bunnies is open to all not just students Age 3months -5 years

It is worth finding out how many children from your area use the Nursery





Other relevant Information

Position /Location

The new Trinity Childcare and Family Centre is located at the refurbished Ynysowen Nursery Site.

It has lots of airy colourful space inside, grassed, paved and hard standing out side including a Japanese garden.

It is sited next to the primary school.

There is ample parking and the site is very safe.

These are major selling points for Trinity –Safety and location rank high with prospective clients


Some additional research from an Equality and Human Rights Commission Research report 66 Childcare: A review of what parents want by verity Campbell Barr: Plymouth University and Alison Garnham: Daycare Trust (2010)

What parents wantThe division between work and childcare is no longer conceived along ‘traditional’lines for the majority of modern parents. Only 29 per cent of parents believe thatchildcare is the primary responsibility of the mother, with 38 per cent believing thatfathers are primarily responsible for providing for the family.

Fathers increasingly want to spend more time with their children and want to share the responsibility of work and childcare.

However, despite modern values, many families find that the arrangements they have in place for work and childcare are often constrained along traditional lines. In considering their day-to-day life, over three-quarters of mothers state they are primarily responsible for childcare in the home. However, there are discrepancies in the views of men and women as a third of men believe that they share the responsibility for childcare equally compared to only 14 per cent of women. (Ellison et al., 2009).

Among the lived experiences of parents, those who are flexible workers are morelikely to think positively about the state of their work and childcare arrangements,providing evidence that flexibility delivers improvements.

In contrast, parents with additional caring responsibilities, disabled parents or those with disabled children are significantly less likely to feel they achieve a satisfactory work–life balance.

To further add to the negative lived experiences, a sizeable minority of parents report that their arrangements cause some stress or tension (Ellison et al., 2009).

Childcare is expensive and is often unaffordable. A quarter of non-working motherswith pre-school children, mentioned the affordability of childcare as a reason for notworking (Ellison et al., 2009).

However, a lack of family support was also a barrier to employment for just over a quarter (28 per cent), demonstrating the complex nature of the use of childcare.

Among parents paying for childcare, the cost was still found to be high with around a fifth saying that they struggled to meet their childcare costs.

This proportion was significantly higher among lone parents, and families with low pay and living in deprived areas.

More affordable childcare was among the top four recommendations made byparents in order to enable them to achieve a better work–life balance, along withbetter flexible working opportunities and better paternity leave and pay (Ellison etal.2009).


Yet it is not just cost that influences the decision to use childcare. In a 2010survey, parents ranked the following criteria when choosing childcare:

‘staff, well qualified, trained or experienced’ (74 per cent); ‘warm and caring atmosphere’ (59 per cent); ‘Good Ofsted report’ (44 per cent), and ‘cost’ (36 per cent),

(Daycare Trust, 2010).

Other research has shown that parents rate good staff, warm and caringatmosphere, quality of buildings and health and safety as priorities.

Trust ranks high with most parents.

The benefits of early childhood education and care

The phase between birth and six years is a critical period for children’s cognitive,social and emotional growth. A considerable body of evidence has shown thesubstantial benefits of good quality early years education and childcare for children.

Outcomes and achievements in adulthood are closely linked to cognitive and socialcompetencies developed in childhood.

Good cognitive abilities are associated with educational attainment later in life and indirectly (that is, through education) with higher wages.

Social skills also contribute to later life outcomes: skills related to attention are associated with higher educational qualifications, while social adjustment is associated with improved labour market participation, higher wages and the reduced likelihood of being involved in criminal activity.

The quality of preschool and primary school education matters for the development of cognitive and social competence, along with the Home Learning Environment.

Research from the Effective Provision of Pre-School Education project data (Sammons et al., 2002) found that, regardless of all other factors, children who did not experience any preschool provision demonstrated lower cognitive abilities and poor social/behavioural development at school entry (especially ‘peer sociability’ and ‘independence and concentration’).

For example, it has been found that for those children who attended pre-school for two years, cognitive development at the age of five is four to six months more advanced than for those who have not attended at all.


Travel to work

It is important with regard to parents to consider where is going to be the easiest place to drop their child off. Often parents have to travel a fare distance to get at work and sometimes factoring childcare into the journey which isn’t easy. Some points to consider are; childcare near home means easy access in route to and from function but can mean they might be left longer in the service depending on how far parents have to travel for work. Childcare next to a sibling’s school can make it easier for parents to drop off and pick up at the same time or childcare next to work can make parents feel close to hand should anything untoward was to occur. However parents often have family close to childcare setting to pick up and drop off children.

Evidence of travel path shows that parents are not keen to deviate off main routes to access childcare on their travel to work. Trinity’s position does not come into that market.


Conclusions and recommendations

From the research undertaken we make will base our recommendations for the market, marketing offering and promotion of Trinity.

It is an essential part of any marketing activity that it is based on sound solid research. Information informs good decisions and those that involve any element of marketing whether it is strategic or operational, needs that robust base.

To underpin this we have generated the following SWOT analysis .This shows the Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats to an organisation or business.

The aim being to maximise and build on your strengths.

Note and work on the weaknesses to cancel them out.

Start to take advantage of the various opportunities in line with your existing resources.

Note the threats and manage any fall out that may come from them with some good strategic planning.

The SWOT for Trinity is shown below

It is a good planning activity to get staff and partners to add to the SWOT in relation to their knowledge of the organisation.


Strengths Excellent reputation Professionalism Well trained motivated staffNew premises Market visibility Unique offering Flexibility Local Authority supportGaps in their geographical market Communities First ExperienceWell formed partnership Parental Support

Weakness Lack of capital reserves

Lack of business focused staff No succession planning

ReservesLack of Business Skills

Opportunities New Constitution

New Trustees Sponsorship Opportunities

New changes in Communities First WG policy focusing on child poverty

Increased facilities open up wider markets for allied services Flux in other providers

New markets through realignment of LA.s

Threats Recession

Loss of jobs in Merthyr Other providers seeing opportunities

Maintenance of new premises Funding not being available

Lease termsCuts to Supply Chain Budgets


The geographical market Trinity’s natural geographical market is the South of the Merthyr Borough. This is also where there is a dearth of childcare provision compared to the North of Merthyr.

This would include

Plymouth, Bedlinog, Merthyr Vale and Treharris.

With the changes in Communities First boundaries there will be opportunity to look at the top end of the former Taff County (now part of RCT).

This will also ensure no direct competition with private sector providers.

Pentrebach which borders the south is also a possible, but two main competitors are sited there and they will have already been active in garnering the market.

A point to note –in my discussions with Mandy Perry who manages the ICC, she sated that she would be happy for Trinity to tender for their childcare setting as and when the contact comes up for renewal.

Product offerings

Gaps in the market – As you will see from the research the call is for

Flexible times,

Flexible pricing,

Provision for disabled children,

Provision for special needs children,

Holiday provision.

Mobile Crèche facilities.

These are factors that will encourage use of Trinity’s new facilities. Plans are already in place for long re opening hours and to increase the availability for special needs and disabled children. Extending the mobile crèche availability is also now being planned for.

Business development opportunities have been flagged up in other parts of this report. To make the optimum use of the gaps, there is need to look at funding for a dedicated post to ensure all possibilities can be followed up and maximised.

I would recommend an application to Merthyr’s Social Enterprise Fund for a Development /marketing Officer to work in the new CIC.


Marketing and Business Development are key to any business success. Trinity has the operational staff and skills as far as the childcare and family service. There now needs to be a plan to start looking at the more business side and the functions associated with that.

Promotion of your Childcare and family Services.

A key factor in the success of your social enterprise is how and where you promote it

This is called the Communication side of your marketing strategy.

Communication is getting your message across to the market you are targeting.

Is a complex and interesting field, getting it right is the difference between success and failure

I suggest that you ask Wales Co-operative Centre for some training for you and your senior staff in this field so you acquire some basics marketing communication skills to ensure you communicate in the right way with your various markets

The Communication side of marketing includes

Advertising

Public Relations

Personal Selling

Sales Promotion

Branding

Sponsorship

And of course today E promotion.

The time allocated for this piece of work has been to limited to go into all of these aspects and as you will realise there is a lot involved in communicating with your market in the right way with the right mix, hence my recommending that you look for money to fund a post which would included this element.

I have looked at two elements briefly for you

Your web site and your literature. I have gone through face to face my recommendations on these.

Briefly – keep you message simple, base it on the research in this document which underlines what’s important to parents. Use pictures and illustrations where you can, clean simple fonts and do not use too many colours. Do not use jargon.


That will also keep your costs down. As at present you have no defines budget for your marketing.

PR – use the local press and you excellent contacts and partners to spread your message. PR is very cost effective. Use you launch as a marketing tool Invite people who will be useful to the business to come along We have spoken about an official launch at Christmas which is a good time because of the feel good factors and also the Centre will look bright and decorated.

Just to note, if you are going to use photographs of the children in any of your press releases, ensure you have the parent’s written consent.

You already have a Face Book page and a Twitter account make sure you use these fully , but also make sure that you monitor what is being said and who can speak officially on your behalf on these platforms.

Use the contacts you have to cascade your services internally though their intranets or any newsletters or publications they have. This can be a direct advert or a press release that you have sent to the local media. As you are a social enterprise this should not be a problem for any public sector or third sector organisations.

Part of your communication is also non verbal. People make assumptions about you and the service you offer in different ways. One of the most powerful is the way they are dealt with by the staff, the appearance of those staff and the appearance of your setting- inside and outside.

You have new refurbished building. The entrance is key. Make sure it is bright and not cluttered either by too much furniture or by too many notices and notice boards that are not kept up dated and smart looking. You outside entrance should also be clutter / litter free. It inside should be a welcoming place with places for people to sit and possible enjoy a coffee while they wait.

The staff should be in uniform as laid down by you selves, there should be no deviation from colour or style – remember the word is “uniform”. That gives an air of professionalism

I know the staff are excellent with the parents and clients, your latest inspection report reflects that.

Offices and areas where you interview or receive people also add to the message you convey.

Marketing is a holistic discipline it covers all elements of what you offer, how you offer it and what impression you give to your market,

This includes you competitors, vice versa you should keep up to date with what they are doing, how they are doing and where they are doing it. This keeps you informed.


Services that could be offered along side the Childcare which would return revenue and use the new Centres Facilities

The key to sustainability in a social enterprise is to use all the resources you have that can be used to make a profit for you over and above that which is funded. Childcare itself is not always the income generation vehicle supposed because of staff ratios and statutory need. .

1. The Kitchen

The new building has a well equipped and spacious working area. From this you can look at offering cookery courses for beginners, nutritional health courses and budget cooking .There is funding available to do this and this should be explored. Health is also a funding plank for the new Communities First programme.

In line with the amazing space and talent you have, you can look at offering birthday parties and occasion parties. These would need to be costed and piloted to see if they return a profit,

2. The skills of the staff

Offering training courses in house or on client premises is already in place. There is a market to expand this and offer the services through third party suppliers like Empower and WEA.

3. Product needs of the client group

Again with the kitchen you could start to look at ready made homemade meals that busy working mums/dads could purchase when they pick up their children. There is always a market for home made food that is nutritious and saves time when you are a working parent.

Along side this a small retail section which sells products allied to the children and will save a trip to a supermarket is always a good plan, if you have the space which you do in your entrance This is called on selling and you will see it in post offices and pharmacies for example.

Also in foyer consider and coffee/soft drinks vending machine which again will return you cash.

The information in this report should give you a sound basis to market your business effectively with the right messages and services to ensure sustainability and success for Trinity in you new setting and your new path.

Angela Elniff-Larsen October 2011.


Appendices


1. Trinity Nursery project marketing plan (outline) Notes from the meeting Wednesday 3 August 2011

Acting Project Manager / Registered Person Mrs Tania Stephens

Communities First Representative Mr Ken Long

Wales Co-operative consultant Angela Elniff-Larsen

The meeting was held to establish the requirement of the Trinity Nursery project in terms of marketing when it moved its operation from its present base to the Ynysowen Nursery School site.

Moving to the Ynysowen site will provide additional capacity in all areas of provision that Trinity now offer.

The crèche will offer up to 45 crèche places

Additional outside play areas

Additional places for disabled children

Catering on site

Full day care from 7.30 to 6pm

Additional after school capacity.

Trinity needs an indicative marketing outline so that when the new premises are ready there will be the additional markets ready to take up the provision

It was agreed that as we only have 3 days (21 hrs) we would concentrate on

Sources –which segments will be most beneficial to Trinity in terms of revenue against costs.

Look at Unique Selling Points for the New Nursery

Review the competition to ensure the USP for Trinity is just that.

Research where existing Corporates in Merthyr are buying their childcare.

How information is disseminated in larger organisations and companies

Look at

Communication policy

Review existing marketing material

Look at communication planning

Produce an out line marketing strategy based on the above


The position/ownership of the existing mobile crèche

Tania would forward Angela

marketing material to critique

any useful document she sourced allied to the brief

Details of staff and skills

Details of existing funding and funders

Details of where existing children using the project came from came from geographically.

Angela Elniff-Larsen

2. Core communication principlesAll of our communications will follow these key principles:

Accessible languageAll communications (written and verbal) will be:

open and honest in plain language avoid the use of jargon.

Appropriate to the audienceOur communications will be produced and delivered in a manner appropriate to the intended audience. When creating communication materials, we will first ask ourselves:“Who are we speaking to?”“What are we trying to say?”

Responsible and timelyWe will communicate whenever we need to and whenever we might be expected to by our stakeholders and staff - our work, our decisions, and our impacts (both positive and negative) to the right audience at the right time.

ProfessionalOur communications will reflect the professional standards expected of Trinity and the Welsh Government.

Planned at the beginningOur communications will be planned at the beginning of any project or activity in order to get the right messages across to the right people in the right way at the right time.

Best use of tools/methodsWe will make best use of all the tools/methods available – verbal, printed, online – to communicate effectively with our audiences.


Consistent style of communication Our communications will be produced following agreed branding guidelines.

LegalOur communications will comply with relevant legislation, including Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Welsh Language Act 1993.

Strategic PrinciplesIn addition to our core communication principles and to support our progress and continual improvement, we will adopt the following strategic principles:

Communication must be part of the planning process from the outset and all programmes and significant projects should have a communications plan.

Communications must be based on a clear understanding of public and stakeholder views and perceptions. We must employ sound research, monitor, feedback and undertake stakeholder mapping.

Evaluation must be integrated into the communication planning process to ensure continual improvement.

Partner organisations should be encouraged to carry out communications and promotion for us, and in conjunction with us.

A wide range of channels and approaches should be considered and supported – e.g. external relations, stakeholder engagement, media relations, and social media.

The skill sets of any staff engaged in the communication process or with communication responsibilities must be maintained and updated.

3. Delivering our messages Our focus is to build our resource and develop our skills in order to deliver our messages through our press and media work, by improving internal communication channels and opportunities and by improving the two way flow of information with our Board.

Alongside this, consulting with others on the development of our programmes and working with stakeholders to provide the opportunity to communicate our messages more directly with our audiences.

We will also make smart use of all the channels and opportunities available to us, in particular we will maximise the use and effectiveness of Trinity’s own communication channels, and widen our approach to communications to seek new successes through other means.

In order to be effective we must always apply our principles and know:


who we are communicating with where they are i.e. the areas and issues of interest to them and the level of power or influence they have why they might be interested when we should communicate to achieve the best results

We will develop a better understanding of the communication preferences of our target audiences i.e. how they prefer to hear from us, ensuring that wherever possible these preferred channels are used to direct our messages.

Our own press/media activityControlling our messages and presenting a balanced picture of the organisation.

Our partners, stakeholders and intermediariesInfluencing others to get our messages across.

ProjectsBoth Trinity’s led projects and those where we have an involvement.

CampaignsMaking use of any relevant campaigns as vehicles to communicate our messages.

Publications and promotional materialsPrinted and on-line publications and promotional materials to communicate and support understanding of our messages.

EventsAny local events, community meetings, school visits, specialist seminars, conferences and forums, working in partnership with others at events. Any wider events where opportunities arise those at UK and Wales levels and European should opportunities arise.

Website and Social MediaDeveloping this channel to communicate our messages and improve its quality and accessibility to users. We will continue to develop our website as a key communication channel and test the effectiveness of using social media as a way of communicating with our audiences.

“Visitor” experience/recreation marketingEnsuring that any marketing we undertake is also considered, where possible, as an opportunity to communicate our wider messages to the people who come to our site to participate, to observe or for meetings.

AudiencesWe have identified our audiences, grouped in the categories below. We will consider who the target audience is for all our communications and put them at the centre of the planning process, thinking about the best messages, use of language, treatments, channels and methods with which to reach them based on their needs and preferences.


Internal Trinity’s staff, CIC Board CF Cluster

External Government

Welsh Ministers, Welsh Government Departments Director Generals, Directors & other officials, AMs, MPs Agencies and statutory bodies, Local authorities Local Business Professional bodies and unions

Third sector Social enterprise agencies, Voluntary/community organisations Advisory organisations, Education sector Nurseries, schools,

General public Local people, community groups, Recreational visitors Business Visitors General members of public

Media Newspapers, radio, television (national/regional/local) Specialist press/media On line Web based


4. Managing negative publicity This covers all staff, volunteers, trustees and directors of Trinity.

This Strategy focuses on the mechanisms for promoting the good work of Trinity, but ensuring that we are prepared to deal with negative publicity, and then learning from the outcomes, is also a vital component.

Our approach to managing negative publicity is based on the knowledge that, in a fast-moving media world, it all too easy for a story to run away from an organisation’s ability to manage it. The speed and quality of our response may well set the tone for media coverage of the story.

We must therefore be prepared in order to maintain the trust and credibility of the public, to reduce impact and to keep the public and others informed and reassured, while trying to get across our positive messages. However, no matter how well we prepare, it is impossible to eliminate all risk.

Our aim will be to be ready to respond quickly to any eventuality and – while we may not have all the answers immediately – to at least be able to position ourselves as an organisation that has proper policies in place, while we try to find out what happened.

Our response to negative publicity must focus on protecting the legitimate interests of Trinity’s and not endanger or disadvantage our communities or the public.

Lines to take, outlining our position on each key issue and drawing out the key points we wish to get across, will be drawn up. These will also identify key spokespeople and provide their contact details.

Planning includes considering the possible scenarios and preparing responses. We will continue to take this approach, alongside other strategies available to us, to ensure we are prepared and can demonstrate a professional approach to managing negative publicity.

Note

Ultimate responsibility is with the Director – no one is to undertake any contact with any form of media or organisation in respect to what is seen as negative publicity with out agreement with the Director and being fully briefed. The Director will decide who responds, how and when


5. Abbreviations/acronyms

CSA Childcare Sufficiency Assessment

DCSF Department of Children Schools and Families

DWP Department of Work and Pensions

ECEC Early Childhood Education and Care

EYFS Early Years Foundation Stage

EYP Early Years Professional

EYPS Early Years Professional Status

EYSFF Early Years Single Funding Formula

NCS National Childcare Strategy

Ofsted Office for standards in education, children’s services and skills

PVI Private, voluntary and independent sectors


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