Busy Kids celebrates five years in business

Athlone's Busy Kids creche is aptly-named. During a visit by this newspaper last week it was brimming with vitality, as dozens of young children of various ages immersed themselves in their activities under the staff's watchful eye. The purpose-built facility, which is located on the Ballymahon Road, is going from strength to strength. "The creche is five years old this year and thankfully things have been going very well," said Busy Kids manager Pauline Gately. "In some cases parents have reduced the number of days their son or daughter spends here, but in general the recession hasn't really affected us. We've been very lucky in that regard." The local creche is part of the Sonas Group of healthcare and childcare facilities. Sonas operates four creches in total, along with five nursing homes. "The Busy Kids creche here in Athlone is a flagship creche for Sonas because it was specially designed to meet the highest standards. Sonas creches which have been developed since then in Lucan and Limerick have followed very similar designs," said Pauline. The local creche caters for children aged from twelve weeks to twelve years. A winner of the Quality Mark for excellence in childcare delivery, it is regularly audited by the HSE and its last audit found that it was fully compliant in every category. Pauline stated that there were a number of reasons why the creche had been successful in recent times. One was the extensive opening hours of 7.30am to 6.30pm, five days a week. "Being open that bit longer means that parents aren't as hurried when they're dropping off or collecting their children and it's something that we think makes a difference," she said. "We're also very flexible when it comes to facilitating any day changes or hour changes that may be needed." "We're open all year round and we've nine purpose-built rooms. We have CCTV cameras throughout the creche, for the benefit of children and staff. We know that it can be difficult for parents to drop their children off at a creche so we try to set their minds at ease in any way we can, and we create a very homely feel to the creche itself." Another focus of Busy Kids is responding to each child's individual abilities and requirements. The creche's code of ethics states: "At Busy Kids we believe that each child is individual regardless of race, culture or physical disability. Each child is treated with respect, love and kindness." Pauline pointed out that each day's activities were tailored to suit the individual's ability, and parents received a 'care plan' detailing their child's activities, sleep and eating patterns each day. When Pauline joined Sonas, three years ago, it was a new departure for her. She had previously spent 27 years working in quality and process management with Ericsson in Athlone. After her time with the telecommunications company came to an end, she took courses in childcare supervision. Her role now combines her skills in this area with experience in project management which she developed at Ericsson. Positive word of mouth is a factor in most of the new admissions to Busy Kids. Currently the creche offers a number of added incentives for parents, one of which is a 10% discount for families who enrol more than one child. Between now and March there is also a special discounted rate for the enrolment of babies aged between 12 weeks and one year. Pauline was keen to point out that one of the creche's greatest strengths was its staff. "All sixteen of our staff are fully qualified, with seven staff members having completed their diplomas in Montessori teaching and supervision last year," she said. "We are also hoping to recruit two additional staff at the moment so anyone who is interested is invited to send in a CV. "We have a qualified chef who prepares nutritious food on-site each day and the menu is displayed for the parents to see each morning. "The turnover of staff here is very low. The staff all have great pride in the creche itself and my own view is that if staff are happy that will reflect on children and parents also. "Regardless of what's going on in the world outside it's a pleasure to come in to work here. There's no talk of politics or NAMA or anything else. The children are full of joy," she said. An 'open door' policy is in place at Busy Kids, which means parents who may be interested in enrolling their child are invited to call in at any time. "No appointment is necessary and we offer a free settling-in period in order to help children and parents adjust when the child comes here first," said Pauline. For more information about Busy Kids, contact the facility at 090 64 74223 or see: www.busykids.ie