Rainbow Tots contacted parents this week and said it would be closing both its Les Quennevais and Beaumont nurseries with immediate effect and entering liquidation this month.
Director Jayne Newton, who started the business with her late husband in 2003, said that the impact of the coronavirus situation had been devastating for the business.
And she said although there were loans on offer and the opportunity to defer social security payments to ease the burden on businesses, it would not be enough for Rainbow Tots and would merely push the problem to a later date.
She said: ‘Rainbow Tots has for the last 17 years, and up to March this year, been a very happy and successful nursery and we have had many hundreds of Jersey children attend, the oldest of which are now finishing university.
‘The closure of the nursery due to coronavirus has meant that we are no longer receiving fees and without this income we are unable to meet the running costs of the nursery this month or in the months ahead.
‘There are various loans available, but I do not think that it is the right decision to take on what would be a very big loan without being sure that it was possible to repay it.
‘The deferment of social security again is a build up of debt that would
need to be paid at a future date.’
She added: ‘I am enormously sad that the nursery will be closing. Some of the 32 staff have been at Rainbow Tots since we opened and we are a close team. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with such a fantastic group of people.
‘Many of the children that attend Rainbow Tots start with us as very young babies and it is always rewarding to see them grow into confident four-year-olds ready to take the next step to big school.
‘I have had emails from many of the nursery families and they have been understandably shocked and upset to hear of the closure, together with the additional worry about future childcare options for their children. I would like to thank the families that have offered to help in many different ways.’
