It’s common knowledge that sleep is essential for growth and development, especially in children and infants. Parents spend months trying to perfect a sleeping room that provides the best rest for their children. They then pack their little ones off to childcare centres with their fingers crossed that the positive sleep routine continues. Centres do their best to replicate sleep patterns and habits, but naturally, a childcare sleeping room differs from a personal nursery.

The early childhood education sector is booming. Figures show there are currently around 4,500 licensed services across New Zealand with education and care centres making up the majority of that figure. In 2018, the Ministry of Education Annual ECE Census, found that more than 60% of 0-4 year-olds attended a licensed ECE service during the week and the average weekly attendance time tops 21 hours.

New Zealand is proud of its clean and green reputation and its outdoor lifestyle. But to keep our environment clean we need to ensure we are building sustainability into our everyday lives and doing our best to live in an environmentally friendly way. 

Running an Early Childhood Education (ECE) Centre is no different from any other business, except that the social outcomes are typically of enormous value. Money comes in, and money goes out. The key is to keep the former higher than the latter. This involves effective cash flow management.

For any childhood centre the design of the layout is key to its success. Whether you are starting with a purpose-built new building, working within an existing space to set up a new centre or renovating a centre, paying attention to the layout design at the very beginning is crucial.