Disruption at nursery to persist for two weeks

A Jersey nursery that closed at short notice has said it will be two more weeks until services fully return to normal.

Parents of children at the Jersey Leeward Nursery, in St Helier, were told on Thursday there would be a one-day closure due to staffing shortages.

It said some children would now be asked to stay at home over the next two weeks while it "trained and upskilled staff".

The nursery, which is operated by the Busy Bees group, said the move was "a last resort" after months of trying to recruit and train enough staff.

A spokesperson said they had told parents there would be "phased openings" of some classrooms so it could maintain child-to-staff ratios in the peak holiday season.

They said the nursery had a legal requirement to make sure there were enough qualified staff per child.

"Our intention is that the nursery will be fully open and business as usual on Monday 11 August," it said.

The nursery said its staff were "working incredibly hard", but it recognised the "inconvenience and upset" the closures had caused families.

Parents would be offered a full refund for the day where their children were asked to stay home, the spokesperson said.

Busy Bees said it was continuing to look for new staff in Jersey, as well as bringing over temporary nursery workers from the UK.