- The following is content from the press release -
(Location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yasuyuki Toki; hereinafter "Unifa"), a company that transforms childcare and society through technology, will launch "Lucumi: Find a Childcare Center" on October 1, 2022, a platform that connects childcare facilities, parents, childcare providers and government. The service is positioned as the first phase of the "Kashiwa x Childcare Challenge" project implemented by Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, the Kashiwa City Council of Authorized Childcare Centers, and the Kashiwa City Council of Private Licensed Nursery Schools, and aims to resolve issues related to the search for childcare facilities by parents ("hokkatsu").
Current Situation and Challenges Surrounding the "Daycare" Industry
According to a survey conducted by the National Federation of Private Nursery Schools in Japan, parents prior to enrolling their children in daycare facilities place more importance on items related to conditions such as location and yard, etc., while items related to "quality of childcare" such as the quality of teachers and the openness of the organization affect their satisfaction after enrolling their children*1. 1 Therefore, it is important to include "quality of childcare" in your childcare activities even before the child is enrolled in preschool in order to ensure your ultimate satisfaction.
On the other hand, the current situation surrounding childcare services is inefficient and burdensome for parents and administrators because of the lack of online access. In addition, with the number of children on waiting lists decreasing year by year*2, and with some urban areas experiencing capacity shortages, daycare facilities need to let parents know about the special features of their facilities in order to attract more children, but they lack the know-how, including means and methods, to effectively disseminate information.
■"Looking for Lukumi En" features
1. supervised by Dr. Keitomo Soyobuta (Professor at Tamagawa University), you will learn how to choose a childcare facility that is "good for your child.
We asked Dr. Keitomo Soyobuta, one of Japan's leading experts in early childhood education, to supervise the entire site. You can learn about the conditions of childcare facilities that are good for children, what points to look for to judge the quality of childcare, and how to choose a childcare facility in the post-waiting list era.
2. transmission of the "story" of the school by the caregivers, which reveals the intention of the childcare and the atmosphere of the childcare facility.
The "Find a Preschool" cutout consists of "Community" and "Story of the Preschool," in which the preschool's daycare providers use documentation (photos and simple sentences) to communicate their daily childcare activities. The "10 images*3" can be used to tag the aims of the daycare, and the connection to the childcare plan and the childcare provider's point of view are also introduced, making it easy for parents to understand the intent of the daycare being practiced at the preschool. In addition, we believe that the "stories" that visualize the state of childcare and provide information on the preschool's childcare policy can be useful not only for parents who are looking for childcare, but also for childcare providers who are looking for a job.
3. application for a tour of the park can be made online.
You can apply for a preschool tour within the Lucumi preschool search, eliminating the need to contact the local government and childcare facilities, and making the search for a preschool more efficient.
*1: "Report on the Results of the Needs Assessment Survey of Parents with Preschool Children" (National Federation of Private Nursery Schools, August 25, 2022)
*2: According to the "Summary of Situation Related to Childcare Centers" (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, August 30, 2022), the number of children waiting for admission to daycare centers nationwide was 2,944, the lowest number ever recorded.
3 The "10 images" are a verbalization of the 10 images that we want our children to develop by the end of their early childhood, and are commonly found in the kindergarten education guidelines, nursery school guidelines, and guidelines for education and childcare for certified nursery schools.
Service Overview
Service name: "Lukumi: Finding a Park
URL:https://en-sagashi.lookmee.jp/
Start date: October 1, 2022 (Saturday)
Comments from the Supervisor
Dr. Keitomo Soyobuta (Professor, Tamagawa University)
Due in part to the problem of children on waiting lists, it seems that in the past day-care activities have had to focus on the aspect of "finding a place to enter". Nowadays, with the expansion of the number of available childcare facilities, parents are able to choose a childcare facility of their choice, and it is necessary to have an axis for finding a good environment for their children. Lukumi Preschool Search" is a site that responds to the needs of such parents. The entire site is structured around documentation to visualize the policy and philosophy of the preschool, making it a site that gathers useful information not only for parents but also for childcare providers.
About Kashiwa x Childcare Challenge
In Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, the local government and preschool operators (council) are working together on the "Kashiwa x Childcare Challenge" to improve the quality of childcare services and to secure human resources. As a first step, Kashiwa City has decided to make available a photo-based record of childcare services (documentation) on the "Lukumi: Find a Sono" website, with the aim of improving the quality of childcare services at nursery schools and childcare centers in Kashiwa City.
This will not only provide timely information on daily childcare activities, which was difficult to convey from websites and flyers of childcare facilities and local governments, but also visualize the expertise of childcare providers, which will lead to improvement of the quality of childcare by verbalizing the intent of childcare, and provide highly transparent information to parents and childcare providers. This will enable us to provide highly transparent information to parents and caregivers.
▼ Kashiwa City x Childcare Challenge Special Site
https://en-sagashi.lookmee.jp/kashiwa-city_hoiku-challenge.html
About Unifa
Unifa is a startup in the "Childcare-Tech" domain that aims to solve social issues related to childcare and childcare. With the company's purpose of "creating new social infrastructures that create happiness for families around the world," Unifa develops and provides "Rukumi," a childcare support service that utilizes IoT and AI. Through the concept of "Smart Nursery Schools, Smart Kindergartens, and Smart Childcare Centers," we are contributing to the creation of an affluent society in which it is easy to work while raising children. Smart Nursery School" received the Good Design Best 100 Award in 2021 and the Good Focus Award (New Business Design), a special award, and "Rukumi" won the ASPIC IoT, AI, Cloud Award 2021, which is given to cloud services that are beneficial to society, in the social industry-specific In addition, "Lukumi" received the Advanced Technology Award in the social industry-specific ASP/SaaS category of the "ASPIC IoT/AI/Cloud Award 2021," which is given to cloud services beneficial to society. Unifa" was also selected as a J-Startup.
Company Profile
Company name: Unifa Corporation
Representative Director and CEO: Yasuyuki Toki
Established: 2013
Location: Sumitomo Fudosan Chiyoda Fujimi Building 2F, 1-8-19 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Business Overview: Planning, development, sales, and operation of the "Rukumi" series of childcare support services. Development and promotion of "Smart Nursery School, Smart Kindergarten, and Smart Childcare Center".
Company URL:https://unifa-e.com/
Unifa, maker of the Lucumi series, has launched a project with Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, to provide a service to support so-called "day-care activities.
When selecting a daycare center, most parents compare specifications, so to speak, such as the size of the yard, curriculum, location, etc. However, once a child actually starts attending the center, the quality of care at that center will directly affect the parents' satisfaction with the center. Therefore, they will be able to include the quality of the daycare center in their consideration by being able to see the story of the day-to-day care, the relationship with the community, etc.
Let's take a look at the details from the press release.