Parents left scrambling to find childcare after shock closure of Preston nursery

Bosses at the Rosy Apple Childcare nursery group gave parents a week’s notice ahead of the closure of Little Achievers in Ribbleton.

Kirsty McAdam, 38, and her husband Pete, 36, who live in Moor Nook, are now hunting for childcare for their three-year-old son Isaac.

Kirsty, a mum of five who is studying education at the University of Central Lancashire, said: “It’s stuffed up my childcare options. I’m at uni and my husband works but he’s having to reduce his hours to work round the childcare.

“There’s got to be someone at home for my youngest one.”

Bosses at Little Achievers have blamed government funding for the closure, which they say makes it impossible to make ends meet.

Kirsty said: “Last Monday they handed us a letter saying they were closing on Friday.

“I didn’t want to transfer him to the other nursery they were offering. He went there when he was younger and he’d not settled there properly so I didn’t want to send him back. I don’t have concerns with the actual nursery but they have gone about closing it the wrong way.

“Isaac loved it there he settled very well and he had a lot of friends.

“They got him walking and his speech has come on so much. I can’t fault the staff. It’s such a shame it’s closing. My seven year old also went there and he was the same - he absolutely loved it.

“It’s a shame that they are not getting enough funding from the Government to keep it open.

“Now it’s smack bang in the middle of term and it’s hard to find a place at nursery because they’ve already filled their places.”

Isaac is now attending the nursery at Moor Nook Community Primary School for three hours each morning. Kirsty’s husband Pete, a cleaner at Debenhams, has adjusted his working hours to fit round their son.

Single mum from Ribbleton Sarah Chapman, 35, also sent her two year old daughter Cally to the Ribbleton Hall Drive Little Achievers. She says that although she’s happy to now send

Cally to the Little Achievers nursery in Chatburn Road it was a big disruption to their already hectic lives.

“My family have had a lot of upheaval,” she said. “Last year I lost my second child.

“I was pregnant with my little boy and he died in May. Then I have had a lot of other personal circumstances going on.

“Little Achievers was a bit of stability for Cally. It was one of the constants that she could rely on.

“It was a smaller group of children and the staff were lovely. It’s just that I’m really really annoyed because of the lack of funding.

“They are not getting anywhere near the amount of funding that they should be getting. If they did they would be able to keep the nursery going. The staff and children were just amazing.

"Cally’s now settled and happy in the new place but I think it’s just something that needs to be highlighted. People need to write to their MPs.

“I’m happy to send her to the sister nursery. The staff and team are great but Cally could have done without that one constant changing.”