Steve Kerr, owner of Homesell Wellington, is also bringing professional after-school care to the region. He is pictured with SKIDS director, Bev Parsons at Wadestown Primary School, the first school to contract the service.
The after school care service, “Safe Kids In Daily Supervision’” (SKIDS), will expand into Wellington and Horowhenua regions this year.
The national office has announced that Wellington businessman, Steve Kerr, has secured a regional franchise to serve schools in the regions.
Mr Kerr said he intends to have SKIDS operating in 20 schools within 12 months and match the national expansion of the SKIDS chain which has been growing at a rate of two per month.
He said the service will be competitively priced and affordable for working Parents.
The first school to have the service will be Wadestown Primary School.
“The demand from schools is driving the service. The real secret will be to find the right people to run each school programme,” he said.
He said the current World recession will have no real effect on the expansion of the service because it can help both mothers and fathers to stay in employment knowing their children are getting the best care and supervision
Mr Kerr said most schools are on the lookout for a service which applies professional disciplines to after-school care.
“Many get by with volunteer Parents who can only help out as long as long as their own circumstances don’t change.
“This service has a splendid reputation for returning rent to schools for the after-hours use of the property, and seeing children improve in their grades and their health.
“The service is mostly to do with giving children a balance of adequate study, rest, exercise and nutrition in that couple of hours before Parents finish work and take their children home.
“A significant benefit has proven to be the homework routine which sometimes does not happen when children are left unsupervised until mum and dad get home from work. And this reflects in improved grades with many SKID children.”
Mr Kerr said, as a father of five children he knows the importance of establishing daily routines for children and helping them to sustain them.
“My own experiences as a father made me realise how important this two or three hour period of the day is for a child’s later life,” he said.
He said the service will expand through Wellington via a franchise network and he will work with SKIDS national office in the selection of franchisees.
“They told me if I don’t see a genuine passion for caring for children in the first meeting, to not bother about a second meeting. I think this is the right advice.”
Mr Kerr previously established the real estate advisory company Homesell in the Wellington region. This company mentors private house owners in the sale of their own homes.