PARENTS hit by the imminent closure of a St Helier nursery will be supported in finding alternative places, the Education Minister has said.
Deputy Rob Ward moved to reassure families after Busy Bees group confirmed it will temporarily close the toddler and pre-school rooms at its Springfield site from 3 October due to staff shortages.
It is the second time this year that Leeward Nursery has had to reduce capacity amid workforce pressures.
The company said the closure is expected to last between six and 12 months, with alternative places being offered at its Castle Quays and La Providence sites. The under-two baby room at Springfield will remain open.
The announcement comes just one month after an industry body warned that the Island’s childcare sector is “vulnerable” and in need of review.
The Jersey Early Years Association – which represents local nurseries and childcare providers – said the problems at Busy Bees reflected a wider shortage of qualified practitioners, and called for a “root and branch” review of early years provision.
Association chair Belinda Lewis said that staffing had become the “single biggest challenge” facing the childcare sector following the pandemic.
She pointed to a number of pressures, including new regulations requiring more qualified staff, the rising cost of living, a shrinking workforce, competition for staff from other industries and changes to immigration rules following Brexit.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Education Minister said: “This news has only just come to my attention, and we are urgently seeking to understand the details of the partial closure.
“I recognise the concern that this is going to cause and would like to reassure all families affected that our priority is to ensure all children will continue to access high-quality early years provision.
“We will work with local providers to support parents in securing alternative places during this period.
“There remain some spaces in school nurseries and any parent wishing to consider that option should contact the school in the first instance.”
Deputy Ward has previously confirmed that a working group set up to tackle staff shortages in Jersey’s childcare sector will be restarted.
Busy Bees said the “difficult decision” to close its Leeward site followed a review of staffing levels, recruitment trends and apprenticeship training.
The nursery chain, which runs 390 facilities across the UK and Ireland, apologised to families for the disruption – but stressed that safety and compliance with staff-to-child ratios “must come first”.
Divisional director Steve Goodchild said: “Where possible, we will seek to maintain the relationships between children and their key workers at their new settings.
“We are now working on a plan to re-open [Leeward Nursery] at full capacity through a combination of continued investment in our existing team, reviewing our local support structure and exploring solutions to tackle broader sector issues around recruitment challenges.”
