Parents across Greater Manchester have become so fed up with the crisis in childcare they have began launching their own nurseries at home.
One mum, from Bolton, said she decided to quit her job and retrain as a childminder so that she could continue looking after her own daughter whilst making money on the side.
It comes as nursery owners warned that the sector is reaching breaking point, as fees continue to go up to tackle rising costs, staff walk out and parents are being priced out.
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Families previously told the Manchester Evening News they were having to make a difficult choice between childcare and going back to work due to exorbitant costs and a lack of availability.
Cedar Riley, 35, was reaching the end of her maternity leave and wasn't ready to leave her 18-month-old daughter when she decided to quit her job at a local pub.
She and her partner had looked around at nurseries in the area but said they were 'shocked' to discover how much it would cost. The average cost of putting a child in nursery part-time rose to over £7,000, up by 2.5 pc for children under the age of two from last year.
"It got to the point where my maternity leave was ending but I wasn't ready to leave my daughter yet but we still needed money to come in," she said. "I was finding I was really enjoying looking after my daughter so I thought it would be fun to share that experience with other children.
"When we were looking at putting our daughter in a nursery in the area we were just shocked at the prices." The mum-of-one then came across an advert on Facebook for an initiative called tiney.
Launched by the founder of Teach First, the company is currently in the process of training dozens of parents in the area to open their own "micro-nurseries." Many are parents struggling to find and afford the right childcare.
"I liked the way they talked about childcare so I gave them a call and had a meeting," Cedar said. "I just wanted to provide my daughter with the same level of care I knew I could give her.
"I filled out a joining form and was part of the first trial in Manchester. It was face to face training which was amazing. I was given first aid training and then I went about setting up my home and making sure everything is baby proof.
"I had to go through an inspection and once I passed that it was into making my marketing and social media pages. I opened my micro-nursery in May this year."
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The childminder agency is Ofsted registered with successful 'home leaders' fully trained in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), paediatric first aid and safeguarding, as well as undergoing enhanced DBS checks.
Cedar runs her micro-nursery on a part-time basis and says the reception she has received from other parents has been really positive since she opened earlier this year.
"The parents that I work with seem to really appreciate how flexible I am," she said. "A lot of nurseries or childminders say you have to book with them for a minimum of two days a week or something which doesn't work for everyone.
"When you look at nurseries in the area they are around £15 more a day than what I charge now. Lots of the childminders in the area are full as well.
"Opening my own childcare business has allowed me to offer other families the same care I know I would wish for my own child, while also spending time at home with my daughter. It’s the perfect solution for me and also means I can create brilliant childcare options for parents in the area."
You can apply to become a tiney home nursery leader here.
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