Our communities are more important than ever. Where we live isn’t just about our homes, it’s about the people who live in them and the facilities and services they have access to.
They’re full of amazing, inspirational people who care passionately about their local community. And at Yorkshire Housing, we love helping them make their community somewhere to be proud of.
So, when we heard that Little Feet creche in Skipton was at risk of closing its doors, we were happy to help. The creche, which is tucked away in Yorkshire Housing’s Greatwood and Horseclose community space, provides a lifeline to working parents – good quality, affordable childcare.
Set up over 20 years ago, Little Feet was taken over by its current owner and director Emma Nicholson in 2017. She’d worked at the creche since graduating from Bradford University with a degree in Working with Young People, Children and Families the year before. And when it’s future was in question, she stepped in to save it from closure.
Determined to keep such a vital service going, she turned Little Feet into a Community Interest Company (CIC), which means its profits and assets are used to benefit the community. She was then joined by Clare Myers, who had used Little Feet for her own children and previously been a deputy manager at another creche.
The creche was operating at full capacity (it can look after up to 16 babies and children), until Covid came along, and like many businesses, was just starting to recover from the impact of the pandemic, when the cost-of-living crisis hit. And at that point, Emma and Clare turned to Yorkshire Housing for help.
Emma said: “We’ve both lived and worked in this community for a long time and have kids of our own, so we understand the challenges parents face. But as a business, we were also finding things really tough, and we knew we needed some help to get Little Feet back on its feet.
“We’ve both had a long association with Yorkshire Housing and know how much they care about their customers and communities. Apart from the creche being based in their Greatwood and Horseclose community space, my parents were Yorkshire Housing customers who went on to buy their own home, and my grandmother was also a Yorkshire Housing customer who lived on the estate until she was 97. Clare also lives in a Yorkshire Housing home, so we thought it was worthwhile seeing if there was anything they could do to help.”
Yorkshire Housing operates a community independence grant scheme. Anyone can apply for a grant, as long as it’s used in a way that benefits the community and Yorkshire Housing customers. In the past, people have used the funding to develop community gardens, cafes, and young people’s sports programmes, and on this occasion, Little Feet met the criteria perfectly.
With a Yorkshire Housing community independence grant, Little Feet was able to continue to offer its essential services to the community. Through our wider support network, we also introduced them to the North Yorkshire Growth Hub, an organisation that provides free expertise, support and resources to businesses of every size and in every sector. They've helped Emma and Clare with a range of business development and marketing activities, including linking them with other local businesses to secure sponsorship, supporting them to attend local networking events with other childcare providers, helping with their social media strategy, identifying local competitors and providing guidance in developing a longer-term financial plan.
Emma said: “Without Yorkshire Housing’s support, the creche would have without a doubt shut down. Yorkshire Housing heard how much we were struggling and worked with us because they believe that the community needs organisations like ours led by people like us. We love our community and will always have its best interests at heart.
“We know the cost of living has made things even tougher for our customers, and we want to get the message out that we’re here and are committed to providing good quality, affordable childcare. While things are still tough at times, we have faith again and feel like we’re getting somewhere. The support we’ve had from Yorkshire Housing, and the North Yorkshire Growth Hub has been amazing and we feel much more optimistic about the future and about continuing to support our amazing community.”
To find out more about Little Feet and the services it offers, email littlefeetcreche@mail.com or give them a call on 07725 075328.
For more information about Yorkshire Housing’s community independence grants and how to apply, visit Apply For a Community Grant | Yorkshire Housing or email communityenquiries@yorkshirehousing.co.uk