Wired UK – March 2019

FLEXIBLE PARENTING

WORK/ PLAY

BALANCE

Coworking spaces are cornering a new

market – busy entrepreneurs’ kids

people in the UK. And an estimated 1.91 million UK workers

are freelancers – a 46 per cent increase since 2008. So

why are there only a handful of coworking spaces in the UK?

It’s a tough industry – only 40 per cent of all coworking

spaces are profitable, according to the 2017 Global Coworking

Survey. Opening onsite childcare on top means complying with

additional regulations. To get Ofsted registration, businesses

need to ensure that there’s enough space and that the ratio of

staff to children is correct. They also have to factor in high rent,

insurance and licenses. Finally, they have to strike the balance

between desks and the size of areas dedicated to babies.

Other coworking crèches like Third Door and Entre-

prenursery, also in London, have overcome

these challenges, but Second Home has had

to delay its launch by several months, and is

now planning to open at some point in 2019.

In 2017, Elizabeth Moody-Stuart

shuttered Officrèche, the Brighton-based

coworking crèche she founded six years

earlier. She says it provided a supportive

network for parents, but the margins were

too thin. “Childcare is an expensive add-on

for a coworking space,” she says.

Overall, childcare seems to have failed

to keep pace with the changing world of

work. Nationally, there is a drastic shortage

of places. Childcare costs in England are

among the highest of any developed

country, according to the OECD. The expense

is especially tough for non-salaried workers

with fluctuating work, who do not want

to pay for childcare during quieter periods.

“The whole issue around the childcare

system and provisions is extraordinarily

complicated to navigate,” says Jane van

Zyl, chief executive of Working Families, a

work-life balance charity. Coworking crèches

might be a step in the right direction. “A good

idea is a good idea, and will create better ideas

as it moves forward,” she says. Or perhaps

one solution could be to follow the example

of Huckletree West, a London space with a

family room – but no staff to take care of the

babies. Whatever users’ preferred options,

it seems that childcare will be a growing

opportunity in 2019. Sarah Shearman

Left to right: Fabienne O’Neill, toddler Orla,

and her mum, Charlie Rosier, at Cuckooz Nest