Nursery closing-Nightmare

[funnylittlekaty]

We received a letter this morning (recorded delivery on a saturday so there's no one to ring, sneaky beggars) telling us that DS's nursery is closing. On January 3rd. That gives me 3 weeks to find a nursery that I like, get his name down, a place to come up, us to settle him and for him to start. I am so fuming, I understand that funding has been difficult and the closing is really unfortunate, but if they'd given us more notice I could have at least got his name down at some other places. The waiting lists are mad round my work so I don't think anywhere will have a space. Mum lives 6 hours away and MIL 3 and she is still working, so they can have him for a few days as an emergency but nothing long term. Aaaarrrgh. Ranting now. Any suggestions? Anyone with experience of childminders? I can't bear the thought of leaving him somewhere new that he and us are not sure about because we've got no options.

[notnagging]

Do you not think if they could've given you more notice they would've done? You would have received the same notice as its workers, how do you think they feel?

[rubyslippers]

Ring your council on Monday
They will have a list of childcare providers such as nurseries and childminders
Beg favours off friends short term
Work from home
Juggle things with your partner
It won't be easy but not much else you can do

But as the PP said it can't be nice for the owners and the staff losing their livelihoods and at Xmas

[insancerre]

How annoying for you.
My sympathies go out to the nursery and the staff. I expect they were too worried about trying to keep the nursery afloat and keeping their jobs to really give your inconvenience much of a thought.

[breatheslowly]

What a nightmare for everyone involved. Could you afford to take on a member of staff as a nanny as an interim measure if nothing else turns up? They will be out of a job too and you might be able to join up with another parent from the same nursery for a nanny share to make it more affordable.

[SizzleSazz]

Nanny sharing with an existing staff member/other child is a great idea breatheslowly

Also, i used a CM for 4 years and she was absolutely amazing. I couldn't have hoped for a better 'home from home' environment.

good luck and i'm sure it will all work out in the end

[funnylittlekaty]

Thanks to the people who've been sensible enough to see what I meant. Of course I'm sad for the nursery but it is part of a children's centre attached to a nursery school so the staff will be able to be reallocated somewhere else. Obviously it's difficult for everyone, I just think I could have had his name down somewhere else while they tried to rejig finances and keep nursery open. I can't work from home as I'm a teacher myself. I've sent round emails to places asking if they have any vacancies but I'm not holding out much hope. I honestly don't know where we will put him on January 3rd.

[rubyslippers]

Ask a staff member if they want to nanny for you

[nannynick]

A nanny will be very costly for care of just one child... more practical if you have 3 or more children.

Local childminders are certainly worth considering, visit some to get a feel for what they provide. Like nurseries, childminders have to follow EYFS. You could combine a childminder with a pre-school (if your DS is aged 3+), though some childminders are able to provide funded education. Contact your local council (or county council in some areas) Family Information Service for a full list of all local childcare facilities. Some information may also be on their website, so you can start making enquiries over the weekend.

As a teacher are you looking for term-time only care? Some childminders provide that, whilst other's won't, in the same way that some nurseries may provide that and other's won't.

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

It's not a nice situation to be in, but you have a month not just 3 weeks to get plans in place.

We have had to find new childminders at a months notice on 2 occasions and it's all worked out but was incredibly stressful.

Check your local councils website - ours has a family information service section with a database of all childcare providers.

Start ringing round all of them, not just those that say they have vacancies (things change all the time, they're not 100% up to date). Meet with as many as you can, and get a short list. Take your ds to visit the short listed ones.

The nanny using a member of staff is a great idea, but probably only financially viable if you can share with some other families and agree about where the children would be looked after and terms and conditions that everyone agrees to.

Good luck.

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

Well yes it is, but in my experience childcare providers only close for Bank Holidays so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

In fact, it could be a positive - a great week for settling in sessions while OP is off work herself.