Emer McVeety’s Laochra Academy is reshaping childcare in Ireland with school-based care and ACORNS support, empowering rural female entrepreneurship..
It was while Emer McVeety was teaching in Australia that she saw the effectiveness of a model in which childcare service providers work in collaboration with primary school communities to offer onsite before and after school care throughout the academic year, and camp care during school holidays.
Coming back to her native Cavan in 2022, Emer set about exploring the possibility of applying this model in local schools. She was also pleased to find that the Government was offering a national childcare subsidy to parents wishing to avail of this kind of service. This resulted in her establishing a new breakthrough business for childcare called Laochra Academy.
“The network I developed through ACORNS helped me to realise the need to get the governance, compliance and quality assurance pieces right from the outset”
McVeety is a graduate of the celebrated ACORNS women entrepreneurship programme which recently opened applications for 11th Cycle as previous participants reported 54% revenue growth. The next programme has a deadline of midnight on September 22.
The programme is available to early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland who have generated sales no earlier than the end of June 2022. Up to 50 places are available for ACORNS 11, which will run from October 2025 to April 2026.
“I set up Laochra Academy, in May 2023 and reached an agreement with the first school I approached, emphasising both the need and benefit of such a service. We started working with them in September 2023 and within a month a principal from another school asked that we set up there as well. In July 2023, we opened our third location in the largest school in Cavan with 500 students, 72 of which we cater for each day.
“We’re also starting in two further schools at the start of the next academic year,” says Emer, who currently employs 20-plus staff in variety of admin and childcare roles.
A Master’s degree in educational management and leadership in DCU prior to departing for Australia revealed to Emer the transformational effects that autonomy and choice can have on children. Implementing that research in a real-life setting has worked wonderfully for the company and the children in its care.
“At snack time, there’s platters, so children choose what goes on their plate. For activities, there’s a range of choice. We are proud to have created spaces in which children build confidence, express themselves, and have their views valued,” she says.
She continues: “The network I developed through ACORNS helped me to realise the need to get the governance, compliance and quality assurance pieces right from the outset.”
From little ACORNS to thriving businesses
Women in rural Ireland with new businesses or at least with well-developed ideas are being invited to join next phase of the programme, ACORNS 11.
The ACORNS programme is designed to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland through a peer learning approach. Thanks to the support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the voluntary contribution of time by Lead Entrepreneurs, there is no charge for those selected to participate.
Interested applicants for ACORNS must first register their interest here and will then receive an application by email. There is no charge for participation, thanks to continued government support and the voluntary contribution of time by Lead Entrepreneurs.
Results from ACORNS 10 demonstrate the programme’s impact on rural female entrepreneurship. All 52 participants who completed the cycle reported feeling closer to achieving their business ambitions, with 90% saying their participation brought about practical change within their business. Four businesses started trading for the first time during the cycle.
The financial results were particularly impressive, with the combined annual turnover of ACORNS 10 participants growing from €2.8m to €4.3m, representing a 54% increase. Participants employed a total of 104 staff at the end of the cycle, an increase of 15 positions, and 18 participants had gained export experience.
ACORNS operates on the belief that early-stage entrepreneurs learn best from their peers. The programme features monthly roundtable sessions facilitated by Lead Entrepreneurs who have first-hand experience of starting and successfully growing businesses in rural Ireland.
The programme has also been recognised as a ‘good practice’ on the EU’s INTERREG Learning Platform, adding to its recent accolades.
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