Want to Start a Daycare or Preschool?

If you have the capital, experience and right temperament, running a day-care center or preschool can be a good business for you. Since every hour there is a baby being born, after three to four years parents must seek a preschool for their children. This is inevitable because they have to be prepared before going to grade school. So before starting a preschool, the first step is determining the type of facility you want to set up. A facility for kids aged four and below is classified as a day-care, while preschools serve children aged four-and-a-half to six. Technically, day-care centers are places where parents drop off their children for guided play, but their coordinators or assistants need not be teachers by profession since they simply mind the kids.

These centers are accredited and monitored by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and supervised by local government units, which charge a very minimal fee, since Congress has yet to pass a bill allowing private businessmen to operate them. On the other hand, preschools are subject to stricter guidelines, cost more to put up and are regulated by the Department of Education (which prefers that their administrators have a master’s degree in education, and their owners a degree in a discipline allied with education and at least 18 units of preschool education).

It’s not easy to get your preschool accredited because of the red tape of the education and social welfare departments so in turn many preschools operate without accreditation. Also, in the financial side, late tuition fees and parents that ran away without paying are some of the obstacles in running a preschools. You will have to deal also for demanding or nitpicking parents.

Below are some guidelines that might help you if you are really interested in starting a preschool:

* Register either with the Department of Trade and Industry (if you’re a single proprietorship) or the Securities and Exchange Commission (if you’re a partnership or Corporation) Make sure your space is at least 500 square meters as required by the education department. Also secure the list of requirements from the department’s Bureau of Elementary Education Division for your accreditation.

*In building your classrooms, make sure each child has at least two square meters of space within and at least four square meters without. You’ll have to build a bathroom near the classrooms. If your school is within a subdivision, you may use open space that is not more than 200 meters away provided your barangay and homeowners’ association allow it.

*Invest in toys, books and other learning materials like workbooks, flash cards and charts.

*Hire teachers and a teacher aide who specialized in early childhood education.

*Never allow your school to be used as a place of business or residence after classes.

You’ll have to operate as a business enterprise until your school is accredited by the education department so secure your mayor’s permit and register with the tax bureau. You’ll also have to take out insurance for your classrooms or building.

Secure permission from the homeowners association if you plan to operate within a subdivision.