Please help with my dream ...

[sillybeans]

For a long time I have wanted to open a soft play centre and run it the way I think they should be run ...

I love childminding but this is always at the back of mind. I have decided that I am going to take the plunge and write a business plan and see how I get on. To do this I need to do a bit of market research. I wondered if you would take a few minutes to complete the below survey and help me get started on my dream.

It's only 10 questions so should only take a few minutes.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S5F83WH

If there is anything you can add with regards your experiences of soft play I would be grateful to know.

Thanks

[caz3007]

Have completed it and added some comments about what would have suited us. I havent been a big visitor of soft play as our local one is in the middle of nowhere and I dont drive and my own DS doesnt like it, but reasons why have been reflected in my answers

[Toothfairy]

All done for you.

A discount for CM's would be good as this is one reaseon I don't go very often. It is very expensive if you have 2-3 children at £4.95 each (which is what our's is).
It needs to have lots of parking, a good mix of resourses for all ages, be clean, tidy & safe (clean toilets!!!), have heating in the winter and air con in the summer.

Good luck with your dream

[sillybeans]

Thanks guys.

The CM discount is a def but also really just for it to be affordable. I live in London and I know costs are higher etc but it costs me (off-peak) £7.75-9.75 per child just for the under 5's and £2.50 for the pleasure of supervising them.

Needless to say we don't go very often!

[caz3007]

Definately no charge for parents/carers unless you are going to include tea and a slice of cake. Why should a parent pay especially as they arent cheap for the children

My son even now at 9 finds some play areas really busy and fast with older children and younger ones for that matter pushing and shoving. We went to Butlins for the day the other day and he went in the one there. I did observe a helper who would have been an adult teenager, having a wonderful time and being jumped by about 20 kids, now those are the supervisors you need who are willing to get down and play and organise games.

[The Juggler]

done. good luck. def. agree with not charging entry to parents/carers - that is bonkers - the kids can't go in alone

[mama2three]

done it!
one has just reopened near us after closing through lack of interest!
It is now booked up for parties for almost 6 months and is doing very well.
They have introduced childminder rates , makes a huge difference in termtime. They have morning and afternoon activity sessions and these are emailed out to all - range of craft , story , singing etc.
They have a 'tambourine tigers' music group every week.
they are going to be offering private tuition in various subjects for all ages from sept in the 'party room'.

[md0u0131]

Have filled it on - it wouldn't let me tick two boxes on some questions though - the age and number of children one.

[PixiePetal]

done!

my local one is for under 6's only - 2 hours in busy times. Good security, locking gate where you pay and go in which only opens when staff press button behind counter.

£1 for 1-2yrs
£2 for 2-3yrs
£3 for 3-6yrs (i think as did not have any this age)

money is made on the food I guess - which is lovely and with childrens portions - small dishes of grapes/cucumber/cheese cubes etc sandwiches - 1 slice sandwich 85p ish. meals for toddler/child/adult sizes (and lovely chunky filled sandwiches for adults )

sweets were limited to small funsize choc bars kept out of reach and eyes of tinies!

There is another in another local town for older children which is hell on earth for CMs with tinies! I avoid it and it is expensive too

[AliceK]

We go both as a family and as a childminder quite a lot. We have 3 close enough by to visit. The most important thing for me is being able to actually see the children when they are playing so whereby the tables and chairs are positioned around the play area and there are no hidden bits where you can't see what's going on. I also think it's difficult when children get to about 2yrs. They are too big for most of the under 3's section which are usually very babyish but they are not yet capable enough to go into the main area with the bigger kids. Safety is top of my list so high reach door handles and staff signing you in and out etc.

xxx

[Monkey26]

Filled in it - some of the questions you can only choose one answer although the question asks two different things so I commented in the comments box!

My biggest bug bears are...
* No food on the premises - this just doesn't work for us childminders as many children come with packed lunches and if not its not cost worthy for us to pay for soft play and a (often expensive for what they get/eat) lunch
* Toilets that look and smell as if they haven't ever been cleaned!
* Babies and toddlers on one floor then big kids on another/far away - a lot of my toddlers are big for their age and enjoy the bigger bits but that isn't possible if I have a just crawling toddler as well, the same goes for the school holidays
* Having to pay for adults!! Anything from £1.50 - £3 around here

Having said all the negatives I do love soft play areas cos the kids love them...

There are two that we visit once a month or so - one is in a sports centre so is small but only costs £2 per child AND the cafe let kids have packed lunches provided adults order food The second is at a place that has soft play, outdoor play, animals and a history museum so whilst we enjoy it all we have been known just to go up for an hour in the soft play. Membership there is £30 for the yr so I have membership and so do all my over 3's and again you can all take packed lunch

It has always been in the back of my mind to set up a soft play area as well so good luck and well done to you for pursuing your dreams xx

[Katiekoo]

Did the survey.

Good on you for pursuing your dream!

I wouldn't mind paying a fair amount for children to go in IF;
Parents are free, and there are offers through the week (my local one has an afternoon a week in term time where it's free!).
There are different areas for different age ranges that are close to each other so if you have children of ranging ages you can monitor them all at once. This is because I hate seeing older children in the smaller children's area knocking into them and riding on the roof of the little cars!
Some play staff around to monitor the use of equipment and activities, and to ensure parents supervise their children.
I hate seeing children 'run wild' in the soft play while their parents sit in the cafe. And worst of all seeing older children supervising younger ones

It would be great to have other things going on there too, classes, parties etc.

[sillybeans]

Thanks to everyone who has filled it in so far, sorry for the annoying one answer only restriction... i will try to change

x

[miffy]

I have filled it in too.

Good luck with your venture

Miffy xx

[Rosy Days]

We go both as a family and as a childminder quite a lot. We have 3 close enough by to visit. The most important thing for me is being able to actually see the children when they are playing so whereby the tables and chairs are positioned around the play area and there are no hidden bits where you can't see what's going on. I also think it's difficult when children get to about 2yrs. They are too big for most of the under 3's section which are usually very babyish but they are not yet capable enough to go into the main area with the bigger kids. Safety is top of my list so high reach door handles and staff signing you in and out etc.

same here, like to be able to see the children and not have to worry about them escaping out of an unsecure door xx

[Velleity]

Filled in for you. Won't repeat myself here - went into some detail on the form :-)

[uf353432]

We are lucky round here in that we have 2 soft play centres that are both very very different and offer different play experiences. They both offer reasonable childminder deals, only charge for children.

One however is a lot of equipment in a small space, the access points to get into the soft play are geared up for children (soft play steps/ladders) and as such are very tight in terms of space, adults can get up there - but you can't be too overweight, its also tricky to see the children from many vantage points - so you are taking a leap of faith at times that kids are ok and are on constant 'listening' mode for crying you recognise.

I really like the idea of doing something different at soft play - using the setting as a different play experience - that sounds wicked.