Our league table round-up (page 21) shows a flurry of mergers and acquisitions as well as organic growth for the biggest chains. However, the publication of the Government's Green Paper, Every Child Matters, will herald threats as well as opportunities for the sector as the drive to create a network of extended schools gets under way. Should private nursery groups seek involvement in what could be a bureaucratic and commercially-risky process, or stand back and watch the extended schools take in children at ever-younger ages? Read our analysis on pages 4-5.
Along with acquisitions and growth come decisions about branding your group both globally and locally, and we examine a range of approaches in 'Image conscious' (page 12). And the challenges of planning permission are the subject of our property special, starting on page 15.
Quality of care, however, will still be the most important consideration for any successful nursery chain, and, a year after the publication of Birth to Three Matters, we look at how the framework is being used to enhance the care of under-threes by some of the major nursery groups (page 7).
