One of Glasgow’s largest childcare providers is closing, leaving families scrambling to find places in daycare and after-school care for their children.
Rising Stars daycares will be permanently closed on March 31st.
The move will affect facilities at Easterhouse, Crownpoint, Gorbals and Pollok, as well as Govan and Calton day care centers.
A spokeswoman for Jobs and Business Glasgow (JBG), which runs the centres, said they were not sustainable.
JBG, a charity, could not find a buyer for the facilities.
Cara McDermott’s one- and four-year-old sons are among those affected by the move. Both attend Rising Stars Kindergarten on Crownpoint Road.
She first heard from a parent who had posted on Facebook that the daycare was closing and asked staff, who confirmed the news. She then received an email from JBG.
“We’ve been lucky in the sense that a new nursery is opening in the area and we can send our boys there,” Ms McDermott said.
“However, it is more expensive and we are definitely afraid to be able to afford such a price increase in the current cost of living crisis.
“My eldest son was due to start 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 will affect him.”
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She added that parents should have been made aware before the information leaked and said it had been “extremely difficult” to find childcare at short notice.
Parents were informed of the closure in a letter emailed on February 14.
It said the childcare service was first established in the 1990s by the former East End Partnership and the Govan Initiative, but the funding that allowed the services to be subsidized no longer existed.
The nurseries had been operating at a loss for some time, with these losses being covered by JBG’s charitable reserves.
JBG said it had to “assess the appropriateness” of the charity operating so commercially.
Written by Gary Hay, JBG Chief Executive, the letter said the organization will work closely with Glasgow City Council’s Education Services to meet childcare needs.
Anna Kumar’s three-year-old daughter, Maya, attends the same daycare center and said she heard about the closure from teachers before receiving an email.
She said: “The closure of the daycare centers is having a really big impact, especially on our family.
“My husband and I have already reduced our hours to allow us to look after Maya and we are struggling with childcare issues as we are still trying to work from home and manage her schedule.
“We’ve also used up all of our vacation time for the year and hope to get a kindergarten replacement soon enough.”
The family have contacted Glasgow Family Information Services (GFIS) for help locating a nursery nearby.
A spokeswoman for JBG said: “We apologize for any inconvenience we know the closure of the service to families will have.
“The business case review has been ongoing for some time and the search for a private childcare provider to take over the brand and estate was unsuccessful in the current environment.
“Unfortunately, the company cannot continue to exist.”
She added: “We are working with colleagues from Glasgow City Council to help our families find alternative options across the city.
“No employee is at risk of termination for operational reasons and we will work with colleagues to find suitable alternative roles.”
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