Innovative childcare project to be developed

An innovative new model of childcare that will be jointly developed by business and community leaders was announced today as one of eleven participants in the Ākina Foundation’s inaugural Launchpad programme.

The model will be developed by the Sustainable Business Council (SBC), in partnership with Barnardos KidStart Childcare, and aims to help sole parents enter and stay in the workforce, says SBC Executive Director, Penny Nelson.

"SBC members are concerned about the interconnected issues of child poverty and youth unemployment, and we have a substantial project underway to help sole parents into sustainable and meaningful work. But without a childcare system that is responsive to their needs and the realities of entry-level work we cannot achieve meaningful change for these families."

"Many entry-level jobs can require working outside standard business hours, or have rosters that make childcare provision a major challenge. In addition, very few services are aligned with care for older children before and after school, let alone school holidays."

The Barnardos-SBC partnership will leverage their respective expertise in early childhood education and social services, and business, as well as the social enterprise and lean start-up support available through the Ākina Foundation, to deliver a flexible, adaptable and affordable solution that’s aligned with job locations, transport and community services.

SBC member, Countdown supermarkets, will be the first pilot company for the new employment and childcare project, and hopes to begin early in 2015.

"As one of the country’s largest employers we’re very interested in how we can help remove barriers to employment. Eliminating stress around childcare is an important part of helping families to achieve economic independence by providing the sole parent with a viable career opportunity", said Richard Manaton, GM Strategy and Corporate Affairs for Countdown, who is leading the project team for SBC.