A Weston nursery will stay open for children of key workers and those who are vulnerable during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite losing out on government funding.
Busy Bees made the decision so youngsters can be cared for while their parents carry out vital roles across the district.
The news comes after the Department for Education put a halt to some of its financial support for early learning centres, outlining ‘multiple instances where nurseries will no longer be able to furlough staff’, meaning some childcare providers can now only access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme funding to cover a proportion of their bills.
Nurseries previously had access to two government schemes, which led many centres to furlough large numbers staff, or close temporarily.
Busy Bees, which runs more than 100 centres across the UK, pledged to support ‘as many key-worker families as possible’ during the outbreak, as well as the 194 vulnerable children in its care.
The nursery founder, Marg Randles, said: “The global Covid-19 pandemic has brought huge challenges to everyone across the world, and while we continue to celebrate the incredible commitment of our NHS and key workers, it is important to remember the part our dedicated nursery teams have to play in providing care, education and a little normality for children during these challenging times.
“For our Weston nursery, we wanted to play our part as much as we were able to, and do the right thing for key-worker parents and the community.
“While many nurseries took the decision to temporarily close because of coronavirus, we wanted to be part of the solution by keeping our centres open, despite its not being commercially viable for many of these centres.
“Our commitment to those workers putting themselves at risk is to support them in the battle against this dreadful virus, by continuing to give their children the best start in life – whatever the circumstances.”
Busy Bees is accepting enrolments for children of key workers, those who are vulnerable or families struggling to find childcare.
To register for a place, visit www.busybees.com/key-worker or email keyworker.enquiries@busybees.com
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