THE CHALLENGE
As one of the UK's leading nursery groups, Kids Planet is committed to providing exceptional care, supporting staff development and building strong relationships with families.
The organisation wanted to equip its workforce with additional specialist skills that would:
- Enhance the quality of care provided to babies
- Support staff Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
- Strengthen parent engagement and family relationships
- Help babies settle more effectively into nursery environments
- Provide practical tools to support common infant challenges such as wind, colic, teething and sleep difficulties
- Create opportunities for family engagement through Baby Massage and Baby Yoga classes
Kids Planet sought a trusted training partner capable of delivering high-quality, accredited training at scale across a growing nursery network.
Building Workforce Capability
Over the course of the partnership, Hands on Babies has trained more than 300 Kids Planet staff members through a combination of face-to-face and online learning.
Training has included both Baby Massage and Baby Yoga, enabling staff to develop specialist skills that support babies' physical, emotional and social development.
The programmes contribute directly to workforce development by:
- Expanding practitioner skillsets
- Supporting professional development goals
- Enhancing confidence when working with babies
- Providing accredited CPD opportunities
- Creating progression pathways for nursery staff
- Supporting quality improvement across nursery settings
The flexibility of both face-to-face and online delivery has enabled Kids Planet to provide training opportunities across multiple sites and teams.
Supporting Families Through Engagement
A key strength of the programme has been its ability to strengthen relationships between nurseries and families.
Qualified instructors are able to offer Baby Massage and Baby Yoga sessions that create valuable opportunities for parents and carers to spend quality time with their babies while engaging with nursery staff in a relaxed and supportive environment.
These sessions help:
- Build trust between families and nursery teams
- Support parent confidence
- Promote positive parent-infant relationships
- Encourage family participation within nursery communities
- Enhance the overall nursery experience
By extending support beyond traditional childcare provision, the training helps nurseries create stronger connections with the families they serve.
Kids Planet case study baby massage and baby yoga session/class
What participants said
Gill, Kids Planet Training Lead
Gill, Kids Planet Training Lead
Gill, Kids Planet Training Lead
"The Hands on Babies training was fantastic for our staff. It gave them a great new skill, a wonderful training experience and was also fantastic for helping us as a business deliver on our CPD requirements."
Kids Planet Staff Member
Gill, Kids Planet Training Lead
Gill, Kids Planet Training Lead
"Baby Massage was something I always wanted to learn, so I was delighted when my manager suggested that I could take part in this training as part of my ongoing CPD – a win-win all round."