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Cbeez workplace crèche solutions by Cbeebies Daycare
A child-friendly workspace is the dream of every working parent. A workspace that allows a working mother to report with her 10-month-old baby, put her/him at the nursery with enthusiastic and professional caregivers before she clocks in for the day’s job and later during the workday, pay a visit to her child for that all-important curdle and breastfeeding comes with amazing benefits for all.
Employers in Kenya are looking forward to the day when they will rank among the telecommunication giant Safaricom PLC, as the most child-friendly employers and attract talented mothers and would-be mothers as part of the workforce
However, despite the obvious benefits of having a child-friendly workspace and the push by both lawmakers and international organizations, the implementation of this concept is still wanting. Some employers set up lactation rooms that employees never used for lack of practical sustainability.
Cbeez Crèche solution by Cbeebies Daycare aims to solve this problem by helping organizations implement child-friendly workspace in Kenya.
Cbeebies Daycare is a childcare services provider offering revolutionary childcare solutions with a straightforward mission of taking great care of the child so that the parent can focus on work all day long.
Health Act of 2017: Towards the realization of child-friendly workspaces in Kenya
On June 23rd, 2017, the Parliament of Kenya passed the Health Act of 2017. Among other provisions, the Act mandated every employer;
- To protect the rights of breastfeeding mothers in the workplace,
- To establish breastfeeding stations with the necessary equipment and facilities,
- To take strict measures to prevent any direct or indirect promotion, marketing or sales of infant formula and/or breastfeeding substitutes at a breastfeeding station and
- To grant all breastfeeding employees paid, in addition to regular time offs for meals, breastfeeding or milk expression time off for up to one hour every eight-hour working period.
This act was celebrated in many ways as a monumental milestone in empowering working women and child healthcare space as far as exclusive breastfeeding is concerned.
It is easy to see why this was important because most working mothers get just three months of paid maternity leave, after which they have to return to work and leave the little baby at a daycare or with a nanny. This has been an impediment to exclusive breastfeeding for infants.
NGOs efforts and practical models
International organizations like UNICEF have been at the forefront of the push to have employers establish child-friendly workspaces.
The Health Act 2017 owes part of its success to the efforts by the United Nations Children’s Fund, the resilience of Kenyan mothers and the willingness of the people of Kenya to do better, especially for working mothers and infants.
A case study by UNICEF on the implementation of a child-friendly workspace on a private tea farm in Kericho county established that having a child-friendly workspace “has been effective in increasing breastfeeding rates, improving worker retention and fostering greater satisfaction at work.” The case study further discovered that “in just two years, the initiative demonstrated its feasibility, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, providing proof of a scalable working model in Kenya and beyond. This Field Innovation story shares valuable lessons for embedding maternity and child rights into business practices.”
Despite the efforts by both lawmakers and non-profit organizations to enact laws and provide practical experiences and showcase the benefits, the adoption of child-friendly spaces in both private and public sectors workplaces has been quite the challenge. Safaricom PLC is the only notable exception.
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, issued recognition and commendation to Safaricom for implementing child-friendly workspace for their employees and through a report titled “Tackling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-Supported Childcare,” noted that “family-friendly workplace policies such as childcare, flexible work, and paid leave can enable firms to attract and retain talent, boosting productivity and profits. Childcare provision can enable more working parents, particularly women, to realize their income-earning potential.”
Despite the efforts by both lawmakers and non-profit organizations to enact laws and provide practical experiences to showcase the benefits of having a child-friendly workspace, adoption by both private and public sectors has been quite a challenge.
Now, thanks to Cbeebies Daycare’s Cbeez Crèche service, there’s a practical approach for employers to implement child-friendly workspaces for their nursing employees.
How Cbeez Crèche services work
Cbeebies Daycare, through the Cbeez Crèche service, aims to provide employers and parents with a practical and sustainable solution for implementing child-friendly workspaces.
This is how the Cbeez Crèche service works;
- They help the employer set up a workplace nursery with playing, learning and sleeping equipment. The nursery is preferably set up within the workplace. Still, if there are unfavorable prevailing work conditions like noise, dust or people traffic, the nursery is set up at a different location that is easily accessible by the employees.
- Cbeez Crèche employs trained and experienced caregivers who are adopted from Cbeebies Daycare’s other services. The daycare has developed a training manual for caregivers strictly vetted for the patience and passion required in handling children.
- They also have standardized operation procedures tailored towards safety, fun and hygiene. Standardized documentation outlines the childcare policy which is provided to all parents whose children are enrolled in the program. The policies dictate how much time a parent can spend with their child during a workday according to the agreement with the employer, and child abuse prohibition policy, among others.
Services payment depends on the number of caregivers per nursery, determined by the number of children per center. Normally, the recommended ratio is one caregiver for every three children plus an additional caregiver who takes care of other important duties like preparation of meals, nursery hygiene and others.
The crèche fee is paid monthly by the employer to Cbeebies Daycare. This fee can be paid entirely by the employer or flexibly, depending on the internal arrangements between the employer and their employees.
Call Cbeebies Daycare at +254 742 418 411 for workplace crèche services
If you are an employer looking to establish a child-friendly workspace for your employees or an employee wishing to present this option to your employer, reach out to Cbeebies Daycare for assistance.
Cbeebies Daycare also runs a daycare service, night care and after-school care in Kisumu’s Lolwe Estate. They offer child pick-up and drop-off for clients within Kisumu.
Cbeez Franchise is another revolutionary service offered by Cbeebies Daycare. This service targets entrepreneurs looking to start a daycare business in their estates.
Through this service, you can bring affordable, quality and fun daycare services to your neighborhood using Cbeebies Daycare standards of childcare and as a franchisee of Cbeebies Daycare.
To know more, contact Cbeebies Daycare at +254 742 418 411. You can also follow them on Facebook or YouTube.
Directors:
Paul Ochieng Omollo
Paul Omollo is a co-Founder and Director at Cbeebies Daycare. A proud father and husband, he is in charge of standards, policy, marketing communications and strategy.
Naomi Misuku Omollo
Naomi Misuku is a co-Founder and Manager at Cbeebies Daycare. A mother and a wife, she is in charge of operations and the general caregiver staff.
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