Staff at The Children’s House Montessori nursery in Bembridge have been told that they have been made redundant just 6 days before Christmas.
The nursery is to cease trading tomorrow (Friday) due to insolvency, owner Jacqui Seymour has confirmed in a letter to parents.
Financial difficulties have plagued the business over the past 12 months but the loss of £10,000 in funding from the Isle of Wight Council from next month, mixed with a declining number of children attending the nursery, has been the final blow.
Now, staff are without jobs and children are without a nursery place for the New Year.
It is claimed that staff won’t be paid their wages for the month of December, but efforts are being made to raise funds to make these wage payments and redundancy settlements. It is then hoped that money can be returned to parents and finally creditors repaid with what is left – if anything.
Ms Seymour’s letter reads:
“This is probably the most difficult letter I have had to write to parents. I am sure that are all the financial difficulties the nursery has been facing for the past year… we are eternally grateful for those parents who have remained loyal throughout these testing times.
“We have cut back on every outgoing, including staffing hours and moved classrooms lowered ages, held open days, but we have experienced a slow decline in attendance numbers and the final blow has been the Isle of Wight Council taking back another £10,000 in funded payments from us this January 2020.
Article continues below this advertisement “We simply can no longer continue to offer the service we have been so proud of for our children, and faced with the extremely painful decision to close the nursery at the end of this term, and our and out final day of operation will be Friday 20 December 2019.”
“I realise that this may present difficulties to parents in sourcing alternative childcare provisions, including my own family and granddaughters, and I have desperately hoped to continue the nursery running into 2020. I realise that you will have many questions, but I can assure you that we will continue to offer the same level of professional care and education to all of our children up until the day we close.
“This is a very sad and difficult time for me personally as I have spent the last 12 years building up the business and sharing the wonderful Montessori ethos and practices with colleagues, families and children. I take great pride in hearing how well children who have moved up to primary school are now doing both socially and educationally. But I also now have to recognise when I am finally beaten by the funding system and it’s negative effect on provisions. I am also very sad to have to say goodbye to the wonderful team of staff we have at the Children’s House who have worked in such a dedicated manner caring for the children and assisting in running the business.
“As the nursery will cease trading due to insolvency I am working with a registered Business Debt Charity to ensure matters are dealt with correctly. I am also in communication with another mainland provider to purchase our nursery equipment to raise funds. Once I receive funds my priority must be to ensure all of my staff receive their pay and redundancy settlements due, then to return the registration deposits to parents, after that to repay creditors would therefore ask that you are patient and accept my commitment to returning deposits paid to you all as soon as possible.
“The staff have worked hard this week to ensure your child’s Learning and Development records are up to date and these will be emailed to you today. I realise that this is the worst possible time to share this sad news with you but we had sincerely hoped to continue onto next term, and I had to finally accept the outcome only a couple of days ago. It is with my deepest regret and my sincere apologies to all you the inconvenience this decision may cause.”
A JustGiving fundraising page has been set up to help staff affected by today’s news. A target of £1,757 has been set with £160 donated so far. You can view the donation page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bembridgemontessori.
The news comes just hours after it was announced 20 staff have lost their jobs at Auckland House Hotel in Shanklin.
People who have children should be prepared to look after them themselves, not just pay someone else ( often out of tax payers benefit), so they can have their cake and eat it too.
Many I feel are sick to death of having to look after their own children, and just ‘use’ the excuse that they ‘need to work’ to give their children a ‘better life’ when, in reality’ their children would have a better life, with Mum home caring for them.
Please say you’re joking?
Wow that’s a bit selfish nowa a days most of our country have to work (both parents) to live we are a family of 5 and if both me and my husband dont work we cant pay our Bill’s ect it is now a lot hard to live wiv just one parent working and one staying at home so no sometimes you have to put your child into daycare.
So sad for all involved.
Although, I must say I know the nursery is part of a large detached house. In a sleepy part of Bembridge, this must be worth £600k, plenty to repay parents, creditors and staff?? Unless it’s mortgaged up to the hilt, in which case this is all even sadder.
Such a shame the decision to cease trading couldn’t have been made way before Christmas to save the struggle and stress for everyone.
Very sad to hear about a business closing but also for the children disappointing to see that funding has been cut by the council
Surely other providers must be hit in the same way if the council are cutting funding so drastically.
Are other Island nursery’s also having to close?
IF I chose to ‘have’ a horse, I would not ‘expect’ everyone else in the country to fund the purchase, the stable, the food, the vets bills, it’s schooling, its living accommodation. Yet the poor do with their ‘choice’ of having a child.
They claim maternity grant, cost the NHS a bomb in scans, maternity wards, and as soon as it is out, then child tax credits, child allowance another one to claim free NHS treatment, and costly education for years and years.
Now, because the council cut funding these spongers are moaning.
YOU get ‘paid’ to have a child by ALL the above, YOU pay for it’s ‘care’ if you are too greedy and want all of lives luxuries.
If you can’t afford to ‘keep’ a child fully, then take free contraception.
It is YOUR choice to have children, and YOU should pay for it fully, otherwise YOU are imposing your lifestyle choice onto others as you claim the charity handouts as you work the minimum hours per week to do so, all topped up by the rest of society.
SEE it how ‘it is’.