Newport: Families desperate for childcare after nursery fire

Lauren Caley has had to turn down extra hours at work to care for her children

A huge fire which destroyed a nursery has left parents desperately trying to find alternative childcare.

About 60 children attended Wibli Wobli Nursery on Wern Industrial Estate, Newport, where a blaze started Sunday.

Gwent Police said it first received reports of the fire in the evening.

Families have had to arrange new nursery places quickly in an area with a shortage of suitable childcare, with Wibli Wobli's owners saying there is no short term solution.

Lauren Caley from Rogerstone is mum to twin boys, Oliver and Xavier, aged two and a half.

She said: "Since the fire, I've been calling in favours with local friends to look after them so I can carry on working."

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She and her partner "had a mad scramble to find something - anything - in the area".

"We ended up looking at nurseries in Torfaen, which would have meant sitting on the M4 twice a day," she said.

"At 8am this morning, we had a nursery come back to us and say they had some space, but they couldn't hold it for us because there was so much demand - we had to say yes there and then.

"It felt like trying to book tickets for Glastonbury - you have to make a quick decision or lose out."

Ms Caley, who works as a policy officer with a Welsh charity, said accepting the place meant her working life would have to change.

"The new nursery only has space for two full days and two half days, so those are the only times that I can go to work - thankfully my employer is flexible," she said.

"I was just about to go up to working four days a week, but I've already had to say no to that because we just can't find the childcare."

Ms Caley said: "Childcare already costs us nearly £2,000 per month - more than the mortgage - and now the fire means there are 30 to 50 local families all looking around for a limited number of places."

She said staff at Wibli Wobli Nursery had tried to set up in alternative venues, but had not been able to arrange anything.

Fire crews remained at the scene of the blaze on Monday morning

"So we got a message yesterday saying it would be months and months before they'd be able to open in a new venue, and we'd need to find alternative childcare," Ms Caley said.

She added the nursery had been "great" at keeping families up to speed and "they were very apologetic".

"They're even planning to arrange a last session so they can say goodbye to the children - for now - and try to explain what's happened," Ms Caley said.

Owner of Wibli Wobli Natasha Baker said there was no short term solution.

"We're looking for a permanent new building to lease. I've seen two this week so I'm hopeful. If we get a modern building it'll make it easier to go through planning," she said.

"I'm in touch with local estate agents. We want to move as quickly as possible for the sake of our staff. We want to be able to offer the same experience as before to the children and the staff were key to that, they are a big selling point."

She said she believed it would take months, "but we're hopeful".