A Bristol nursery has announced partial closure amid huge pressures in the sector. One parent said the closure of the baby rooms and part-closure of the nursery rooms at Clifton College Butcombe Nursery and Preschool has "caused havoc".
The independent school blamed the severe shortage of qualified practitioners in the nursery sector, and said it "shared the disappointment of our affected families". Its announcement last week, which does not affect its preschool provision for children aged 3-4, left parents scrambling to make alternative arrangements for toddler and baby care.
A parent, who wished to remain anonymous, told Bristol Live: “The management announced on Monday [March 13] that they will be permanently closing the baby and nursery rooms for anyone who doesn’t already have a sibling in preschool and also removing any care provision July - September for all children who do not turn four before July.
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"This is done to protect their intake to the reception class.” The parent said the announcement has “caused havoc" for many families, adding: "The vast majority of the families with children at the nursery rely on two incomes and without childcare their jobs are at risk.
"Some parents due to return to work from maternity leave between now and July, expressed that they will lose their jobs and won’t be able to pay their mortgages." The parent criticised communication from management and also questioned the explanation given about staffing, although they acknowledged the strain on the sector generally.
The parent claimed there had been a particularly high staff turnover at the nursery, which they were concerned had created instability for children. Clifton College responded saying there is a “dramatic shortage” of qualified staff for their baby and nursery care facilities. A spokesperson said: "As is the case across the UK, recent years have seen an unprecedented increase in demand for the nursery sector, coinciding with a dramatic shortage in qualified practitioners.
"The college prioritises the delivery of high-quality care by excellent staff which has not been immune from these very challenging circumstances. Despite our continued efforts to offer significant employee benefits and high salaries, we have unfortunately been unable to find enough suitable candidates to fill vacancies in our nursery.
“While preschool provision for those aged 3-4 will remain open, we have had to make the difficult decision to close our baby rooms (age 0-2 years) in July 2023. Our nursery room (age 2-3 years) will partly close at the same time in line with our new model.
“We share the disappointment of our affected families that we have reached this point but remain mindful that nothing is more important than the safety and wellbeing of all our children. We have put a number of steps in place to support those affected as much as possible during this difficult transition period and will continue to work closely with parents to this end."
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