"Devastated” parents and staff gathered outside a nursery after a sign appeared on its gates stating it would be permanently shut with immediate effect.
Parents at Orchard Day Nursery in Beaconsfield, Huyton, which looks after 200 children and employs nearly 50 nursery workers, contacted the ECHO after noticing a sign outside the nursery earlier today stating it had now permanently closed.
The sign, which has been attached to the nursery’s gates, states: “For reasons beyond our control the nursery will now be closed permanently. Further details have been sent by email. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.”
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Shortly afterwards. parents and staff received emails from the nursery confirming its closure.
In an email shared with the ECHO, parents were told: “It is with our deepest regret that we have to advise you that the nursery has ceased trading with effect from 17 March 2023 and will not reopen.
“This means that the nursery is now closed and is no longer able to provide care for your child.”
The letter referred to strike action carried out by staff members earlier in the week amid a dispute over pay, stating: “Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control including unrealistic pay demands and strikes by staff, the business is simply no longer viable.
“We flagged this potential situation to staff and the union on many occasions but unfortunately it fell on deaf ears.”
The email included an apology for the lack of notice and the “disruption” it will cause to families, and states that representatives will be in touch in the coming weeks with further details for parents who have already paid fees in advance.
One parent, whose child attends the nursery, told the ECHO the family had been left “absolutely gutted” by the closure.
Paul, who asked to be referred to by his first name, said he and his partner had paid £800 for the month for childcare and didn’t know when they would receive any refund, with no notice given when they picked their son up on Friday evening.
Paul said: “We drove past earlier as we’d been sent pictures of the sign on the gate. I said that can’t be true, it’s a nursery, you can’t just find childcare halfway through a term.
“My son’s just two and a half, his cousin goes there too. It’s heartbreaking for him, he’s been going for two years and now he’s not going to be able to say goodbye to all his friends or to the staff who’ve looked after him.”
Paul said he while he has been able to find a temporary placement for his son for next week, he fears many families will be left “struggling” by the sudden closure.
He said; “All the other parents, I don’t know what they’re going to do, they've been left stranded. Everyone’s got to be in the same position, a lot of people have to work full time, it’s the only way people can work with their kids in nursery.”
“The nursery staff have been amazing, the staff deserve a better wage, the fees are expensive. Surely the owners could have given them a better wage increase.”
One local dad, whose daughter attends the nursery, told the ECHO: “I was shocked to hear about this from people walking past the nursery rather than management themselves. There was no indication when dropping and collecting last week suggesting any kind of problems.
“The full monthly payment was taken so not sure why it closes half way through the month. On the day last week of the first strike we were told we would get a credit, that now makes sense.
"We’re feeling really sorry for the staff who must have had no idea themselves as they have all been stars looking after our little girl.”
Staff were also informed via email this afternoon about the nursery’s closure and told not to come in on Monday. In a letter shared with the ECHO, staff were told they were all being put at risk of redundancy effective immediately.
The letter said the nursery has been under “intense pressure” over the staff play claim and industrial action which had a “direct and negative impact”.
It continues: “The situation has considerably worsened this week and after looking at all possible options, the Nursery has concluded it has little option but to close the doors at the end of the working day.”
It adds a consultation over redundancies will begin “immediately” and states that UNISON, which represents most staff members, will be informed and consulted, adding that staff should “not attend work until further notice.”
Local UNISON representative Karen Greer said she had been contacted by staff members and parents “in tears” and made her way down to the site, where dozens of parents and nursery workers had gathered “in a state of shock” at the sudden closure.
Ms Greer said: “There was no prior notification, the union was not informed, I found out after parents got in touch walking their dog with staff members and said there was a sign on the gates.”
She said there was little detail of what the closure could mean for staff as of yet and that workers feel “just dropped” after the shock announcement.
Ms Greer added: “There doesn’t seem to have been any consideration here for the children. What parents are saying here today is my child is going to suffer emotionally as they can’t say goodbye.”
Ms Greer said: “Staff are just devasated and shocked as all they wanted was to have open and honest negotiations.
“We were literally waiting to go back to the negotiation table after having contacted ACAS on Friday.
“To say this is because of the staff asking for better pay, well it’s no surprise they’d never say it was their fault. It’s all so shocking and devastating, there are dozens of families here today as well as staff absolutely furious with the way they’ve been treated.”
Attempts to contact Orchard Day Nursery for comment were met with an automated response message saying the email account was “now closed.”
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