What Pacey does

Coram PACEY (operating as PACEY, the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years) is a registered UK charity (Charity No. 312278) and a member of The Coram Group, headquartered in London at 41 Brunswick Square and serving members from a Bromley-listed base. Founded in 1977, the association represents nearly 14,000 Early Years providers across England and Wales — approximately 50% of registered childminders — and reaches nearly 100,000 children and families through its member base.

The organisation's core product is a tiered annual membership (Assistant, Practitioner, Manager) bundled with specialised insurance, training and CPD (bite-sized modules, pre-registration, safeguarding, food hygiene, health and safety, Wales-specific training), regulatory and policy advice, the Childcare Professional magazine, and member-exclusive discounts. A secondary e-commerce shop (my.pacey.org.uk/shop) sells early years resources, business products (childminding contracts, accounts books), training, and setting essentials, with payments processed via the Etellect gateway. Non-commercial community infrastructure — PACEY Connect local groups, Regional Childminder Awards, Childminding Week campaigns, and the EY Circle newsletter — is layered on top to drive engagement and advocacy.

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring membership subscriptions supplemented by one-time product sales. The go-to-market is community-led: acquisition and retention rely on local networks, regional events, content marketing (blogs, free resources, the Information Hub), social channels (Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest), and policy advocacy on workforce and SEND/ALN issues — currently including engagement in the CMA's market study into early years education and childcare announced 1 July 2026. The cost base supports 101-250 employees spanning training delivery, policy work, Wales operations, and member services.

Name

Pacey

Legal name

Coram PACEY: Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years

Website

https://pacey.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Coram PACEY is a UK charity and professional membership association serving nearly 14,000 childcare and early years providers in England and Wales — including childminders, nannies, and nursery workers — through tiered subscriptions that bundle insurance, training, advice, and policy advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bromley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership fees providing access to insurance, training, advice, policy updates, and member exclusives. Tiered by role: Assistant, Practitioner, and Manager levels.
2. Product Sales: E-commerce shop selling early years resources including business products, training courses, arts and crafts, setting essentials, health and safety materials, books, downloads, and the Childcare Professional magazine. Products support childcare providers with practical tools.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Pacey is a professional membership association that provides insurance, training, business support, publications, policy advocacy, and discounted products to nearly 14,000 early years providers in England and Wales. Members include childminders, nannies, nursery workers, and nursery managers, with tiered membership (Assistant, Practitioner, Manager) plus a separate e-commerce shop of early years products.

Product overview

Coram PACEY operates as a membership-based professional association for childcare and early years providers in England and Wales. The organization offers a tiered membership structure (Assistant, Practitioner, and Manager tiers) that provides a bundled suite of services including specialized insurance, training and qualifications, professional advice, policy updates, and access to member-exclusive business products and resources. The core offering centers on membership benefits supplemented by an e-commerce shop selling early years products, educational materials, and professional resources. Key products include registered childminding contracts, training courses, Childcare Professional Magazine, and partner offerings such as Kinderly software. The organization represents approximately 14,000 Early Years Providers and 50% of registered childminders in England and Wales, serving nearly 100,000 children and families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pacey Membership Annual professional membership for individual early years providers in England and Wales, sold in three tiers (Assistant, Practitioner, Manager). Bundles public liability and professional indemnity insurance, training and qualifications, business resources, publications, advocacy, and member discounts into a single subscription.
• Training and Qualifications Continuing professional development (CPD) courses and qualifications for childminders, nannies, nursery workers, and nursery managers, delivered as part of the membership benefits package.
• Pacey Insurance Public liability and professional indemnity insurance included with Pacey membership for registered childminders and other early years providers.
• Childcare Professional Magazine Sector magazine for the childcare and early years workforce, distributed to Pacey members.
• The EY Circle Newsletter Member newsletter offered through Pacey's shop channel as an exclusive benefit to subscribers.
• Pacey Shop Online retail shop selling early years and childcare products (e.g., business products, setting essentials, member exclusives, Wales-specific items) with member-exclusive pricing on selected ranges.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reaching nearly 100,000 children and families through member providers

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Hope EducationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHope Education appears as an advertiser on the Coram Pacey website, with banner advertisements promoting their educational products and services to the childcare sector audience.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Children's Activities Association: UK membership body for children's activity providers with a narrower scope than Pacey. Comparable as an adjacent professional membership association in the children's services sector.

Direct peers

• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC): US professional association for early childhood educators offering membership, accreditation, publications, and advocacy. Strong international analog of Pacey's role for early-years professionals.
• Early Years Alliance: UK-sector membership body for nurseries, pre-schools, and childminders. Directly comparable as a competing trade association representing overlapping early-years professional constituencies in England.
• Zero to Three: US non-profit focused on the 0–3 early childhood years, providing professional training, policy advocacy, and member resources. Functionally analogous to Pacey on early-years professional support.
• Pre-school Learning Alliance / Early Years Alliance historical: Earlier branding of the Early Years Alliance; included for context as a comparable UK sector body with an overlapping nursery/pre-school remit and a similar advocacy-led model.
• National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA): UK membership association specifically focused on day nurseries, providing training, quality schemes, and policy advocacy. Comparable as a sector body serving nursery owners and managers, with overlapping value proposition.

Regional players

• National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC): US non-profit association specifically for family child care providers (the US analog of UK childminders). Comparable mission and constituency, geographically separate.
• Early Childhood Australia: Australian peak body for early childhood educators, offering membership, advocacy, and publications. Comparable as a regional peer serving early-years professionals in a different geography.

Others

• Kinderly (Coram subsidiary product): Childcare management software platform already offered as a Pacey member benefit. Adjacent enabling technology in the same ecosystem — useful peer for understanding platform partner direction.

Broad incumbents

• National Education Union (NEU): Large UK education union representing teachers and education professionals. Comparable as a much broader professional body that engages on early-years policy and workforce matters overlapping with Pacey.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/paceychildcare
• Facebookfacebook.com/paceylocal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pacey
• Instagraminstagram.com/paceychildcare
• Pinterestpinterest.co.uk/paceychildcare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pacey