Scramble for childcare as Glasgow nursery chain closes
- Published
Cara McDermott's two sons attend Rising Stars on Crownpoint Road
One of the largest childcare providers in Glasgow is closing, leaving families scrambling to find nursery and afterschool places for their children.
Rising Stars childcare centres will shut permanently on 31 March.
The move affects facilities in Easterhouse, Crownpoint, Gorbals and Pollok as well as a Govan and Calton afterschool care centres.
A spokeswoman for Jobs and Business Glasgow (JBG), which runs the centres, said they were not viable to continue.
JBG, a charity organisation, has been unable to find a buyer for the facilities.
Among those hit by the move are Cara McDermott's sons, who are aged one and four. They both attend Rising Stars nursery on Crownpoint Road.
She first heard the nursery was closing from a parent who posted on Facebook, and asked staff who confirmed the news. She then received an email from JBG.
"We have been lucky in the sense that a new nursery is opening in the area and we can send our boys there," Mrs McDermott said.
"However, it is more expensive and we are definitely anxious about being able to afford such a price hike during the current cost of living crisis.
"My eldest son should be starting school in August so the timing of the nurseries closing is extremely unfortunate, we feel let down by JBG.
"He is awaiting a referral for possible additional needs and we as parents already know how much this change is going to affect him."
She added that parents should have been made aware ahead of the information being leaked and said it had been "extremely challenging" to find childcare at short notice.
Parents were told about the closure in a letter, which was sent via email on 14 February.
It said that the childcare service was first established in the 1990s by the former East End Partnership and Govan Initiative, but the funding that allowed services to be subsidised no longer existed.
The nurseries had performed at a loss for some time, with those losses having been met from JBG's charitable reserves.
JBG said it had to consider "the appropriateness" of the charity operating so commercially.
The letter, written by Gary Hay, JBG managing director, said the organisation would be working closely with Glasgow City Council education services to support childcare needs.
Anna Kumar's said her family were "struggling" with finding childcare
Anna Kumar's three-year-old daughter, Maya, goes to the same nursery and said she heard about the closure through teachers, before receiving an email.
She said: "The closing down of the nurseries has a really huge impact, especially on our family.
"Me and my husband have already cut down our hours so that we can take care of Maya and we are struggling with childcare issues because we are still trying to work from home and manage her schedule.
"We've also exhausted all of our holidays for the year and we are hoping that we get a nursery replacement soon enough."
The family have contacted Glasgow Family Information Services (GFIS) for help finding a nursery nearby.
A spokeswoman for JBG said: "We apologise for any inconveniences we know the closure of the service will have on families.
"The business case review has been taking place for some time now and a search for a private childcare provider to take over the brand and estate has been unsuccessful in the current climate.
"It is unfortunately not viable to keep operating as a going concern."
She added: "We are working with Glasgow City Council early years colleagues to support our families to help find alternative provision across the city.
"No employee will be facing compulsory redundancy and we will work with colleagues to find suitable alternative roles."