People often assume that providing conference childcare simply means setting up a room with toys and activities.
In reality, when you are planning a crèche for more than 50 children (let alone 200!) across four days, it becomes something much bigger.
This Easter, the Nipperbout team will once again be delivering childcare for the National Education Union annual conference. Over the course of the NEU Annual Conference, we will welcome babies through to teenagers between 8am and 6pm each day.
It’s always an event we look forward to - we’ve been doing it since 1993!
And it’s an event we have to begin planning long before the first child arrives.
Event crèche planning at this scale usually begins while the previous conference is still happening.
Union conferences move location each year so they remain accessible to members across the country. Over the years we’ve run crèches for the NEU in Bournemouth, Liverpool, Harrogate and Birmingham, and this year we’re back in Brighton.
Because the venue changes every year, we are frequently working in a new space. That means site visits, planning layouts and identifying any challenges well in advance.
Staffing and equipment planning begins around twelve months ahead of the event. Many of our team work in schools as teachers, nursery nurses or teaching assistants during term time and then with Nipperbout during the holidays, so school holidays and term dates are a big factor in scheduling. This year is complicated by some schools not breaking up until 2nd April for example meaning we have less staff availability than usual.
Registration for childcare usually opens to parents just before Christmas. For this conference, the union manages the bookings using the Nipperbout system so they can control delegate access and ensure the process is fair in terms of place allocation.
Demand for childcare at conferences like this can be very high. Not every child automatically gets a place, which means we have to plan carefully to make sure we provide the best and safest experience possible for the children who attend.
We also don’t know the exact age and needs ratios of the children until much nearer the time… yet we have to allocate the right amount of space to the exact number of children in each age group. Floor plans therefore frequently change as space allocations need to be re-jigged. We have to make sure we are well prepared for all eventualities.
For this year’s conference, around 60 Nipperbout team members will be involved across the four days.
The team includes our experienced childcare professionals (aka our Purple People), safeguarding leads and specialists in supporting children with SEND needs. We also bring in workshop leaders who run sessions such as dance workshops, puppet shows, magic shows and even children’s first aid training.
Our recruitment process is robust because the safety of the children is always the priority.
New team members go through a recruitment quiz, application and safer recruitment checks before working three consecutive trial events where they are assessed by experienced team leaders.
They only become a true ‘Purple Person’ once they have successfully completed their training and demonstrated they meet our standards. Only at that point do they receive their ‘Purple Person’ T-shirt!.
For an event this size we also run a six hour in person briefing the day before the conference begins, so every member of the team understands the space, safeguarding procedures and exactly how the event will run.
One of the biggest tasks is transforming the venue into a safe and engaging environment for children.
This year the crèche will occupy a large open area within the Brighton Hilton Metropole Hotel, one of our Ofsted Full daycare registered settings. Using shell scheme walls, we will build eight separate childcare rooms complete with corridors and security, effectively creating a temporary school within the conference centre.
Each ‘room’ is designed for a specific age group and includes spaces for different types of play. There are messy play areas, creative activity tables, quiet reading spaces and areas for larger games and equipment.
We also create dedicated baby areas, sleeping spaces and breastfeeding rooms. Food areas are kept completely separate so that we can manage allergies safely.
When everything is set up, the crèche will cover more than 2,700 square metres of space.
At that point it really does start to feel as if we have built a small school inside the venue.
To create our Nipperbout magic we need a lot of equipment.
For the Brighton conference we will transport over 14.5 tonnes of equipment (or at least the equivalent truck space!)
Setup begins on the Saturday before the event. On Sunday the team arrives for briefing and final preparations before the children start arriving on Monday morning.
And despite all the planning, there is always something unexpected because childcare at events has a habit of throwing curveballs.
One of my favourite (in hindsight!) examples was at a conference in Torquay. At 9pm the evening before the crèche was due to open we were told there had been an outbreak of E. coli at the hotel.
Overnight, we relocated the whole operation to a leisure centre and ended up running the crèche on top of a disused swimming pool! It was a logistical nightmare at the time, but the team pulled together and we made it work.
Those moments are stressful when they happen, but they also remind us how important experience and teamwork are when delivering childcare at events.
For the children attending, the crèche is an unforgettable and genuine experience.
Throughout the week there will be workshops, creative activities and outings including trips to the beach, cinema, bowling, laser quest, local museums, creativity stations and more. Quiet spaces are always available for children who need downtime and we even provide a supervised communication corner where older children can check in with the outside world.
One of the highlights of the conference is our annual children’s show. The children organise the event and perform for parents and delegates, with everything from singing and dancing to magic tricks and piano performances.
It’s a lovely moment because you see children who may have been reticent at the start of the week, suddenly full of confidence.
One of the things I love most about events like this is the legacy they create.
Because this is a conference for the National Education Union, many of the children who come to the crèche grow up surrounded by conversations about education, teaching and the importance of the profession. It’s not unusual to see them follow in their parents’ footsteps later in life.
We’ve been running this crèche for so many years that we often see the same families come through more than once.
Occasionally someone will stop us in a café or the local area during the conference and say, “Are you Mr and Mrs Nipperbout? I used to come to your crèche when I was little.”
One of my favourite moments was when someone said exactly that and then added, “My child is coming tomorrow.”
That sense of continuity is very special.
Teenagers frequently arrive feeling slightly reluctant about spending time in the crèche, only to leave at the end of the conference asking if they can come back next year. We once even had a teenager try to stow away in the Nipperbout van because they didn’t want the week to end!
Experiences like that remind us that these events are not just about providing childcare. They are about creating a safe, welcoming environment where children feel part of something.
And it’s not only union conferences where we see this.
We often see the same sense of legacy at medical and professional conferences too. When events make it possible for parents to bring their children, those children grow up seeing their parents’ work and understanding the communities they are part of.
Over time those small moments create something much bigger.
Union conferences have provided childcare for many years because they recognise that events need to be accessible for their members.
Onsite childcare allows delegates to participate fully in the conference while knowing their children are safe, happy and well looked after nearby.
But it also requires organisers to think carefully about what children actually need.
Fresh air is one of the things people often forget. Adults might happily spend a day inside a conference centre, but children need sunlight and space. Planning outings and outdoor activities is just as important as planning indoor play.
Food is another surprise. Children don’t just want chicken nuggets. They need proper, healthy meals and snacks across a long day.
And then there is the scale.
People often underestimate the space, staffing and planning required to care for large numbers of children safely.
But when it all comes together, the result is incredibly rewarding.
At the end of a conference like this there is always a huge sense of achievement across the team. We’ve created something special for the children and helped make it possible for their parents to take part in the conference.
And even 34 years later we still learn something new that makes the next event even better.
