Interview - Fiona Smith

A business graduate, Ms Smith, who has previously been responsible for franchising for companies including Pizza Hut and Starbucks, opened The Learning Experience’s first corporate-owned UK nursery in East Finchley, London in October 2020, and plans to recruit franchise partners from early next year.

WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR TLE IN THE UK?

Over the last year in the US, TLE has grown rapidly at around one centre a week, so the expansion is very fast. The corporate-owned site in East Finchley is the first in the UK and we will be looking to start partnering with franchise partners in the UK, as we do in the US, to help us on that expansion journey. That will probably start at the beginning of 2021. We may also open one or two more corporate-owned centres.

We will start with London and the home counties but, ultimately, we see ourselves as a nationwide brand.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE POTENTIAL SITES AND LOCATIONS?

We look at the demographics of the area, the existing childcare provision in that area and what the opportunity is. Also access to transport links – whether that be public transport or ease of parking – and outdoor space. Finding somewhere that has enough room for our centres but also gives the important outdoor space for children is key.

HOW DOES YOUR FRANCHISE MODEL WORK?

It is a very traditional model. There is an initial fee that the franchise partner would pay upfront for access to our system, to assist with finding properties, all the curriculum, and how we run our centres, and then an ongoing management fee.

The franchisee has responsibility for financing themselves, but we do have a good relationship with the high street banks who are aware of the brand, so we would work very closely with the franchisee on that.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BEING A FRANCHISEE?

Working with TLE brings you 40 years of expertise of working in the childcare market, and we have a whole team of people who work on behalf of our centres. There is also a team of people who develop our curriculum against the EYFS – all that work is done for you. We market the brand, we help to attract families to your centres in exchange for an ongoing management fee. It leaves you to actually enjoy running the centre and interacting with the children and families and teachers.

DO YOU ALSO HELP WITH RECRUITMENT?

Yes, we have a couple of recruitment systems that we make available to franchise partners and we support them with recruitment through training courses, such as helping them to get their first staff team up and running and trained.

I think recruitment in any area is always the biggest challenge, and getting the right team in place is fundamental to your success. You can have the most amazing-looking building and the most amazing curriculum, but you have to have the right staff to deliver that to the children on a daily basis.

YOUR EAST FINCHLEY NURSERY HAS 150 PLACES – IS THIS THE NORM FOR TLE?

Yes, the standard is that size. The classrooms are divided into age-appropriate groups with the resources to match, so our smallest classroom is just six children, and our largest is 16 children. So, although the children are in a big overall setting, the learning space is very intimate. I think it brings the best of both worlds.

The ratios are the same whether you run a small nursery or a large setting, but the centres that we have are purpose-built to a certain format so that we can divide the areas into age-appropriate classrooms, which is the model that we will be following in the UK.

The East Finchley nursery is a conversion, but we virtually gutted it and developed it, so there are things like our security system and the fact that our corridors have rounded corners. These are aspects that are particular to how we would fit out anywhere and are specific to our brand.

WHAT IS TLE’S ETHOS?

Our mission statement is broad. It is to make a positive impact on the children, on our families and on the communities that we serve. One of the things that we do is to teach life lessons. So, in our broad curriculum we focus on kindness, manners, healthy lifestyles, diversity, charitable giving. All that is part of what the children learn through giving back to communities; working with community partners is all part of TLE’s ethos. This is what we look for people to embrace when joining us.

HOW DOES THE CURRICULUM, WHICH ORIGINATES FROM THE US, OVERLAP WITH THE EYFS?

What children learn is fundamentally the same, but in terms of the areas of learning, the curriculum has been adapted to deliver the EYFS in the UK. We have worked with local experts here in the UK to adapt the curriculum. In terms of what children learn, their gross motor skills, their fine motor skills, it is not that different.

YOU HAVE A BUSINESS BACKGROUND IN THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR – HOW HAVE YOU FOUND THE TRANSITION TO THE CHILDCARE SECTOR?

There is enough that is the same in terms of developing a business in the UK and moving to franchising, but also enough that is completely different. The childcare industry is fascinating. It is fast-growing, and working with the teachers and seeing the children in a setting is very refreshing.

Our line is ‘happy happens here’, and it is so true and really sums it up. It is a lovely environment to be in.