18 staff face loss of jobs with closure of Minster Day Nursery

The nursery and after-school club closes at the end of this month

Eighteen staff are facing the loss of their jobs with the closure of Minster Day Nursery at the end of this month.

The nursery, which also provides an after school club, was founded in 1991 and has provided care for some three decades.

But sadly it will shut its doors on September 30 with staff understood to be working until that date without knowing whether there will be available funds to pay them.

The nursery, in Molineux Road next to the primary school, is registered with the Charity Commission. In accounts filed in May this year for the period up to July 2021, it says: “Over recent periods, the nursery has seen a growth in numbers of children coming in, however the impact of Covid-19 has meant that during the year ended 31 July 2021 the levels of children allowed into the nursery was restricted.”

The accounts show that income fell to £286.88k for the year compared to £361.39k the previous year. The charity also spent £341k meaning a shortfall of some £54k.

In a statement lodged with the charity commission it is revealed that the nursery had hoped to get back to full capacity, opening up three rooms again with resulting new jobs. It had also hoped to expand holiday clubs.

Parents have expressed upset over the closure and condolences for the kind and caring staff.

Last month ITV reported that the overall number of childcare providers in England dropped by around 4,000 between March 2021 and March 2022, the largest decline since 2016, according to figures from Ofsted.

In June Early Years Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch warned that the ‘sector (is) in crisis.’

He said: “We’ve been crying out for so long that things need to change, that the sector is in crisis, that we need to act now to ensure we are able to continue to provide the best possible care and education for our children and families, and yet, so little seems to change.”

The Minster Day Nursery committee said: “Since Covid, the number of children in both the nursery and the out of school club has decreased, despite much advertising and PR work, we have struggled to get the numbers back up to what they were prior to the two lock downs.

“With the rise in bills and the cost-of-living increases, combined with the decrease in income that we have tried to combat over the last few months; but we have reached the end of the road. We are unable to financially continue with the nursery as charity.

“Despite the best efforts of the staff and the management team, we have been left with no option but to close the doors to avoid accruing any further debt.

“The support and kind words that we have received since the original notification was sent to parents has been overwhelming.”

Manager Dawn Todd said: “The staff have worked tirelessly to make a success of the nursery, and as you can imagine, it is heart-breaking for us all to be in this situation.”

Chair of the Board of Trustees, Tamsin McCann added: “We are continuing to explore options to find someone to take the nursery on as business, as there is still a need for a nursery setting in the area.”

Minster Day Nursery and Out of School Club will close its doors, as it is, for the final time on September 30.

5 Comments

  1. More lack of joined-up thinking, unfortunately.
    The UK is short of doctors, nurses, dentists and, I discovered recently, vets. Now we are losing children’s nurseries so that fewer parents can take some of the much-needed jobs because they need to stay home to care for the children.
    The country has been “running on empty” for years. Vital services have been run down, starved of government support, or privatised (which results in the same lack of investment and poor quality service).
    Thousands of perfectly suitable and qualified applicants for training as doctors, nurses, vets etc are rejected each year because the government will not fund the places in which to train them. These are popular jobs that have no shortage of applicants, but the public services are allowed to wither away.
    The closure of another children’s nursery is a small tragedy within a much larger tragedy that is modern Britain.
    Never mind though, the new King will look after us! (I read that in a daily newspaper!)

    • Keefogs.
      I was in total agreement with you until that last throwaway remark about the new King.
      The monarch is a figurehead, not a political leader and has no noticeable influence on how the country is run by the government of the day, as well you know I am sure..
      Completely unnecessary and disrespectful comment at this particular time I feel. Shame that, it ruined an otherwise sensible comment for me.

      • “a figurehead .. no noticeable influence”

        There you go, serving no relevent purpose in 2022.

        Merely a placeholder for a group of people you are supposed to look up to and doff your cap, meanwhile giving you the opportunity to look around for another group of people you can look down on.

        Divide and conquer..

      • I respect your point of view,Ton. I must admit, I hesitated before I put the final comment in. Was it necessary, really?
        Well, I might not have put it in but I grew increasingly irritated by the endless fawning propaganda about the Royal family that we are being subjected to.
        I just couldn’t resist!
        As has been said so often, the monarch is not supposed to have any political influence over governmental decisions. I agree with that.
        So why all the talk about the wonderful things that the Queen has done for us? She wasn’t supposed to do wonderful things, or any other things of benefit to us. That was the deal.

  2. Just read that Charles the turd’s previous home Clarence House, is to make dozens of his staff redundant there now he doesn’t need them because he is moving to Buckingham Palace! Apparently he had 101 staff at Clarence House, and many have just received Notice to quit! Brilliant timing!

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