Every child is unique, sparkling with curiosity, bursting with magic and full of potential.
This sentiment lies at the heart of MiChild Nurseries, a northern provider of childcare and early years education owned and operated by husband and wife duo, Adam and Pauline Sage. Between them, the pair has more than 45 years of experience in the early years sector.
MiChild Nurseries was founded in 2019 and has since blossomed into a collective of 14 nurseries across the north west of England, from Blackpool to Greater Manchester, to Runcorn and beyond.
Founded on the belief of ‘Small Steps, Giant Leaps’, MiChild is an award-winning group providing compassionate early years education to children, ranging from newborn babies to children aged up to five years old. Its aim is to build and create inspiring and stimulating environments in which its children and practitioners can shine: a special place where children can reach their potential prior to starting their school education.
Now, the group is calling upon passionate professionals who dream of a magical and rewarding career in early years education to reach out.
“We have drawn upon the experience we have gained over many years and transformed our passion for early years to create a childcare group that puts children at the heart of what we do,” said Adam.
“We strive to create a special connection and understanding with all of our staff teams at all levels, and across all of our settings. We know early years can be a challenging sector – the working hours can be long, it’s not always the most glamorous of jobs, and all this comes with a great responsibility of caring for young children.
“However, early years is a tremendously rewarding and satisfying sector to work – in fact, we believe it’s the best – connecting and building relationships with our young children and having such an influential and important role in their formative years means that our roles can be very satisfying.
“We work hard to ensure that we create a culture where our teams feel valued and supported, and we can to show our appreciation of the hard work our practitioners carry out everyday. We do this because, unusually for a group of our size, we don’t run on large overheads, and support teams of faces of people that you don’t see.
“As owners, we are very visible across all of our settings – we will jump in to support with lunch covers, opening and closing of nurseries, cooking, cleaning – even dressing up at open days! We try to lead by example, never expecting our teams to do something we wouldn’t be prepared to do ourselves.”
As a family-owned business with its children and staff at the heart of every decision, Adam and Pauline are the sole drivers of decision making and strategic direction. There are no third-party investors, which means every penny is invested into buildings, environments and resources for children to ensure they can blossom and get the most out of their nursery experience.
Pauline said: “This year, we launched our very own framework and curriculum – MiChild Matters.
“This has transformed our approach to teaching and learning, and gives our practitioners the tools and framework to deliver quality childcare. In fact, at a recent Ofsted inspection, the inspector commented that we have ‘established a clear, well-sequenced and ambitious curriculum for all children’.
“Giving our leaders and practitioners access to training and professional development opportunities is also a key investment for us, as we want all of our staff to achieve their potential. We do this through regular training days and events and, later this year, we will be transforming unused rooms in two of our settings into our very own training rooms, where we will be running our own bespoke training programme.
“We know that it’s not all work and no play, and it’s important that we create a fun and sociable environment, as ultimately, early years is a lively and hugely enjoyable sector.
“Geographically, we are spread out far and wide, but coming together under the MiChild name means that we are a close unit, taking care of one another and offering support whenever anybody needs it.
“We are launching our new staff benefits package this year, which we hope will be revolutionary for the sector, and gives all our teams something extra to say thank you. We run regular staff wellbeing weeks and activities, and offer rewards and incentives for everyone to enjoy.
“All of this culminates in our annual MiChild Awards evening that takes place in the early spring – the biggest party night of them all! We are immensely proud of our staff teams, and this is a great opportunity for us to say thank you to each and every one in a very public way.
“Without our teams of early years professionals, we couldn’t do what we do – it really is a team effort. Our people are our strength. Building quality of childcare takes time and we need the best people to help deliver this and the impact of this can make a real difference to so many young children and families that we support.
“If you’re a passionate professional and want to be part of our success story, then we would love to hear from you. We’re proud to be led by dedicated people, who go above and beyond to do their best for every child.”
To discuss your next career move, you can call MiChild Nurseries on 0800 307 0155 or email enquiries@michild.group. Alternatively, you can browse the full list of current vacancies by visiting the website.