With more and more women holding down full-time jobs or running a business full time, there is a growing opportunity for convenience services like creche businesses. The creche center is an important service that allows working mothers focus on their jobs with the assurance that their children are being well cared for and have their early mental and physical needs catered for. There is therefore the need for child care service providers such as creche businesses to build trust with prospective clients. To engender trust when offering this kind of service, complying with regulatory, safety and health requirements would ensure that you have a clean, safe environment that meets regulatory standards and will help build confidence in your clients.

To gain proper understanding of the regulatory requirements involved in setting up a creche business, we reached out to a FATE Alumni member, Anuoluwapo Akinola who owns and runs a Xtra O Kids, a flourishing creche business in Lagos state. 

The regulatory requirements for starting a creche business include:

Licensing

• Register your business: The Creche needs to be registered as a business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (C.A.C). Also, the owner of the creche care center needs to apply license is also generally applied for by the owner.
• Obtain a permit: The Ministry of Women Affairs is saddled with the responsibility of certifying a creche. The fee to obtain the form is determined by the location of the Creche. This simply means to obtain the permit to start up a Creche at Victoria Island is going to be more expensive than Ikorodu. The certificate is usually granted after a year of inspection by a representative of the WOMEN Affairs Commission.

Educational Requirements/Trainings and Certification

• Owner’s Qualification – The owner is expected to have a degree in Education or at least a post graduate diploma.
• Staff Qualification – The staff are also expected to trained care givers. They must have a reasonable experience in handling children or have some sort of certificate to be sure they are the perfect fit for the job
• Training and Certification – States vary on the training and certification required to open a creche. Some states may require first aid certification or an arranged contact at the local health center so that first aid can be easily administered if needed. Child care training courses may also be required for the owner or employees[1].

Infrastructure/Fun Activities and Equipment

• Building Requirements – The owner is required to have a building of his or her own. The size of the space however depends on the number of children involved Most states allow creche operators the option to run a creche out of their home or in a commercial location.
• Activities and Equipment – All equipment should be child safe and child accessible. Toys, artistic supplies, or other activities should be provided for children attending the day care center, as should schedule activities such as play times, nutritious meals, and nap times for younger children. Special need children can also attend the same day care with regular children as long as the day care has the facilities the child might require[2].
• Safety – The location chosen for a creche must be safe. Before a license is issued, a potential creche location is inspected by the state Ministry of Women Affairs representative to make sure that it meets state requirements and safety regulations[3].

Staffing Requirements

All employees of the creche are required to have background checks to ensure that hiring them will not put the children at the creche in danger. Child-to-adult ratios (The number of staff required depends also on the number of children. Usually a ratio of 5:1. This means one adult to five children) must be maintained based on the age of the children being cared for. Though the exact ratios vary from state to state, more creche staff are required to care for younger children than older school-aged children[4].

Other Requirements

All certifications, licenses and inspection results should be hung where parents can easily see them. A working telephone in the center is often required. Parents should have easy access to their children, being able to visit or take them home as needed. A list of policies should be presented to parents before accepting children to inform them of exactly what activities will be available to the child and what disciplinary actions the center will take if necessary.

[1] Jack, Gerard. What Are the Requirements for Opening a Day Care Center? 2015  http://smallbusiness.chron.com/requirements-opening-day-care-center-4517.htmlth, 2017 assessed

[2] Paul, Onwueme, Nigerian Business Plan and Proposal Writer, 2013: http://lagosbusinesses.blogspot.com.ng/2013/10/how-to-set-up-crecheday-care-school-in.html Mar 6th, 2017 assessed.

[3] Anonymous. How to Setup a Day Care Center in Nigeria? 2008:http://www.nairaland.com/122793/how-setup-day-care-centerth 2017 assessed.

[4] Jack, Gerard. What Are the Requirements for Opening a Day Care Center? 2015  http://smallbusiness.chron.com/requirements-opening-day-care-center-4517.htmlMar 7^th, 2017 assessed