Newbury nursery to close its doors for the last time next month

Pelican Day Nursery 'no longer viable'

A NEWBURY nursery will be closing its doors for the final time next month, owing to declining attendance.

Pelican Day Nursery will close on June 23 after Childbase Partnership, which runs the nursery, revealed it was no longer viable.

Managing director Virginia Mead-Herbert said all efforts were now focused on ensuring children, staff and parents were fully supported, up to and after the closure.

The Pelican Lane nursery has been in the town since 1997 and is part of the daycare chain owned by Childbase Partnership Limited, which provides childcare and early years education through 43 day nurseries across the South of England.

Ms Mead-Herbert said: “This has been an extremely difficult decision and one we have delayed as long as possible, to ensure all measures to keep Pelican open had been fully explored.

“Despite all our efforts over the years, the number of children attending the nursery has continued to decline and we have been forced to accept that the nursery is no longer viable.

“We are fully supporting the 20-member staff team at Pelican and are endeavouring to find placements for them in other Childbase nurseries.

“I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank our colleagues for their hard work, professionalism and unfailing commitment to generations of children and their families in Newbury.”

During the last Ofsted inspection in 2014, the nursery’s provision was rated ‘good’.

The nursery has now invited other local providers to leave literature in the reception area at Pelican so that parents can access options available for the care of their child.