Care homes go for childcare
* One of the largest care home operators in England is to move into the childcare sector. Trading under the name Kids 1st Day Nurseries, the Helen McArdle Group is to open two settings in partnership with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust next month. The on-site nurseries at North Tyneside General Hospital in North Shields and Wansbeck General Hospital in Ashington will each offer 112 childcare places, with 70 places reserved for hospital staff and the remainder open to the public.
Trading under the name Kids 1st Day Nurseries, the Helen McArdle Group is to open two settings in partnership with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust next month. The on-site nurseries at North Tyneside General Hospital in North Shields and Wansbeck General Hospital in Ashington will each offer 112 childcare places, with 70 places reserved for hospital staff and the remainder open to the public.
Managing director Mark McArdle said the company had decided to move into the nursery sector because it was a 'complementary business' to the care home market, having similar systems and regulations. 'We were already in discussion with the Trust because of our relationship with care homes and the idea came together,' he added.
The Helen McArdle Group was set up in 1987. It has an annual turnover of Pounds 20m and employs 1,100 staff in 22 care homes.
