Yorkshire locals offering more childcare options with 'micro-nurseries' in their homes

By night, Alice Seekins’ home in Selby is just that, a place where she and her husband live and unwind. By day, it’s a different story.Out of the cupboards come all of the equipment that babies and toddlers need to eat, sleep and play. And Alice begins her working day, running the ‘micro-nursery’ that she has recently opened from her North Yorkshire home.
Laura Reid
By Laura Reid
Published 1st Aug 2023, 11:50 BST

"I absolutely love it,” she says. “Even when you’ve got a child that’s teething or unsettled or having a tantrum, I love being able to care for and nurture them. Those smiles you get when they settle just make everything worth it and it’s amazing how quickly you can form caring connections and bonds with kids.”

Alice is among residents across the region who are retraining with childminder agency Tiney. After leaving teaching college to care for her grandparents full-time, she decided to launch her own Tiney nursery when they moved into a care home. It opened its doors in May.

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She says: “When my grandparents moved into full-time care, I had to decide what was next for me. I always knew I wanted to work with children but I did not want to return to teaching college. I thought this would fit all my needs and allowed me more flexibility and autonomy than traditional teaching roles.”

Alice Seekins, who has retrained to be a childminder with Tiney.Alice Seekins, who has retrained to be a childminder with Tiney.
Alice Seekins, who has retrained to be a childminder with Tiney.

Alice set about transforming her home to facilitate the care of babies and toddlers. "It was quite difficult because unfortunately me and my husband have had a lot of fertility issues and have not been able to conceive naturally, so we weren’t set up with things like cots and high chairs.”

She dipped into savings to purchase what she needed to get the business on its feet and already Alice has welcomed a number of children into her home. From September, even with an assistant in post, she will be at capacity, with a waiting list.

Since its founding in 2019, hundreds of Tiney homes now operate around the country, run by childminders from a range of backgrounds.

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The initiative aims to provide more childcare options for families, while enabling providers to work flexibly around their own families. It hopes to recruit and train hundreds of new childminders in the region over the coming months.

Alice says: “Now I’ve got an income that I’m excited to get out of bed to earn tat the start of the day.

“And I also know that when we are eventually able to go through IVF and have our own child, I’ve got a home set up where I don’t have to change work. My child will just become one of my mindees. It’s a long term stable thing for our family.

“For the families I’m working with, for some of them, this means they can go back into work and start earning again. Some families have commented that they were nervous about putting their child into a nursery setting because their children were Covid babies and all they’ve ever known is a home setting. Being able to offer that has been incredibly rewarding.”

Related topics:YorkshireNorth YorkshireIVF