Company details

HEADCOUNT

100-499

ORG TYPE

Corporate

SECTOR

Education & Learning

WEBSITE

http://www.tommieschildcare.co.uk/

About the company

Tommies Childcare runs a group of day nurseries in the West Midlands and Warwickshire area, offering early years care and pre-school education for children aged 0–5. The company highlights staff engagement surveying and positions itself around wellbeing and benefits for nursery teams. Public materials also talk about growth through acquiring and developing nursery sites. Tommies Childcare was founded in 1998.

Locations and presence

Tommies Childcare is headquartered around Coventry, with multiple nurseries listed across Coventry and nearby towns including Kenilworth, Nuneaton, Solihull, Birmingham, and Derby. Roles are largely site-based across the nursery network.

Palpable Score

67.6

/ 100

Tommies Childcare offers clear entry routes through Level 3 apprenticeships and frequent practitioner hiring across multiple sites, plus a benefits package that includes wellbeing time and paid overtime for training. The score is held back by mixed employee sentiment around workload and support, and limited public detail on hiring stages and early-career progression outcomes.

Pillar 1: Early-career access

Score

15.2

/ 20

The company advertises Level 3 apprenticeship roles (Early Years Educator / Practitioner) with a defined qualification pathway and a stated move into a full-time Level 3 Nursery Practitioner role afterwards.
Tommies Childcare lists recurring Nursery Nurse / Practitioner vacancies across multiple locations, which is a practical early-career entry point for newly qualified staff.
The company also recruits “unqualified” bank staff for flexible shifts, which can be a first step into early years work while building experience.

Pillar 2: Hiring fairness and transparency

Score

13.0

/ 20

The company publishes unusually detailed vacancy pages that include eligibility, working pattern, and a long benefits section, so candidates can judge the offer before applying.
Tommies Childcare includes structured employee-feedback mechanisms in job ads like the independent ‘b-Heard’ survey, which signals the company pays attention to working conditions.
The company does not clearly publish interview stages, assessment steps, or typical timelines on the careers pages, which limits transparency for first-time applicants.

Pillar 3: Learning and support

Score

15.5

/ 20

The company supports formal learning via the Level 3 Early Years Educator apprenticeship, including the 20% off-the-job learning built into working time and a named training provider.
Tommies Childcare’s benefits package outlines in-house leadership-led training courses plus funded attendance at external early years events and shows, which is tangible development support.
The company commits to paying overtime for training completed outside normal working hours, which removes a common early-career barrier in childcare.

Pillar 4: Pay fairness and stability

Score

13.2

/ 20

The company publishes pay figures in some listings, including hourly rates for bank roles and age-banded apprentice pay, rather than relying only on “competitive salary.”
Tommies Childcare backs stability with concrete benefits like childcare discounts, enhanced maternity pay terms for practitioners and managers, wellbeing hours, and compassionate leave.
The company has negative third-party feedback that mentions being overworked and underpaid in some experiences, which reduces confidence that pay and workload feel fair across sites.

Pillar 5: Early-career outcomes

Score

10.7

/ 20

The company shares internal staff testimonials that include progression (for example, a Nursery Practitioner moving to Room Leader after joining), which is a real outcome signal.
Tommies Childcare has mixed external review themes, with some reviews praising induction and development support while others raise concerns about workload and management approach.
The company’s publicly available data does not include promotion rates, early-career retention over 12–24 months, or typical timelines from apprentice to practitioner to room leader, which caps the outcomes score.

Useful links & resources

Tommies Childcare Careers Current Vacancies Tommies Benefits Package (PDF)