Nurch rewards program aims to support ECEC sector through period of rising inflation

Australian families continue to be financially stretched by the rising cost of living with early childhood education and care (ECEC) a significant additional cost amongst the increases in fuel, groceries and more. Nurch Childcare Loyalty Rewards is helping to try and ease the strain by assisting enrolled families with points that can be put toward everyday spending. 

“As the ECEC sector’s only loyalty rewards program, our mission to support children, their families and the teams that own and operate ECEC centres is one which is unique.” Kara Smyth, General Manager and Cofounder of Nurch Childcare Loyalty Rewards said.  

“Nurch is currently available across a network of 39 centres and the positive feedback it is receiving emboldens us to continue forward towards our goals.” 

“By participating in our program families are able to reduce their household spending while centres are able to offer a value-added differentiator to their competitors that can help attract and retain enrollments, which in turn helps keep the centre running well, educators in employment and creates a consistent learning environment for the children” 

Nurch received well at partner centres 

A parent of a partner centre says that while her family expenses are considerable, the most important aspect of ECEC is that her children are happy and in the right learning environment.

“I have three children attending an AMAZE Education service,” said a parent from Gaven. 

“We recently moved and despite having a centre fifteen minutes from our house we choose to drive 45 minutes each way so they can stay at AMAZE.”

“The educators are like our extended family”, the Gaven parent said, “My husband and I earn full-time wages but daycare is considerable expense, and while the CCS changes have helped, Nurch is a big help that will help to cover a portion of the  $450 we spend in groceries each week  or the never-ending clothes costs that come with having young boys”.

“By allowing families to earn a minimum of one point per dollar spent on childcare gap fees, Nurch allocates points that are then redeemable at over 100 Australian retailers,” Ms Kara McCarthy, Centre Director at Amaze Education Gaven said. 

“Simply put, while families are paying out of pocket expenses on childcare, they’re receiving money to spend on everyday items. We are deeply humbled how we can help families navigate this difficult period.”

Using Nurch points to reduce overall household spending a big plus for families

According to the ABS, inflation is now annualising at around 5.1 per cent, the highest rate of increase since 2009 with particular moves in transport, housing and education costs. 

In a recent survey of Nurch members, 80 percent of respondents said that they see value in the loyalty rewards program, with 49 per cent confirming they use the loyalty rewards program to reduce their household and children related spending. 

Lucy Cook, General Manager and Cofounder at AMAZE Education said “Our number one priority is the welfare of our children and families.” 

“Nurch has given us the perfect opportunity to give back to families for a bill they have to pay. We are even able to include bonus points for public holidays. The fact that the program is automatically reinvesting part of our marketing spend to benefit enrolled families first is a smart business model and no-brainer for us.”

This view was echoed by Nadine Ross, General Manager at Imagine Childcare who noted that they had seen the dual benefit of supporting families with costs but also an increase in overall enrolment as families elect to choose a centre with Nurch as part of their offer. 

“We currently have 26 centres that offer Nurch and more to launch soon. The  feedback from families and centre directors  has been overwhelmingly positive,” Ms Ross said. 

“We have seen an overall increase throughout these centres, even through COVID. Our  occupancy increased by three percent, compared to 2019, and I attribute this success to our educators, sales team and the Nurch program. It’s the winning combination. Families love that they can choose how they spend their points with the trend at the moment being that they like to use the points to buy groceries.”

To learn more about the Nurch rewards program please visit the website, here.