It is with great sadness that we announce the permanent closure of TiggyWinkles Day Nursery from Friday 30 July 2021.

This very difficult decision comes following a financial strain from a challenge of keeping attendance at viable levels.

Despite all best efforts, there is unfortunately not enough take up of childcare placements to be financially viable. In addition to this, the nursery is still recovering from loss of income through 2020 due to the social and economic impact of the pandemic.

Like all non-maintained nurseries, TiggyWinkles has depended on combined income from childcare fees and government payments for childcare. The government payments cover expenses such as staff costs but do not include other operational fees (such as meals, resources and upkeep).

Therefore, income from childcare fees played a vital role to stay in business. However, professional childcare is an expense more and more families simply cannot stretch to, and the take up of placements at the nursery has been below optimum for some time.

In addition, this past year has been a testing time for nurseries all over the country due to the wide-reaching effects of the pandemic, where demand for childcare has slumped.

After a temporary closure during the first lockdown (and subsequent hiatus in income), TiggyWinkles stayed open from July 2020 to serve the community – but take up of childcare provision was too low.

As a result, we are not meeting the financial requirements we need in order to stay in business, and it is with a heavy heart that we announce our closure.

We understand this is a difficult time for many and are committed to supporting our current parents and carers with finding new placements and the transition following into new childcare.

TiggyWinkles staff members are being supported with various employment options through The Pioneer Group’s services.

If you have any further questions regarding the closure of the nursery, please click here to find our Q&A page.

Our team has been providing high quality childcare for over 20 years and it has been a privilege to work with the children of the Castle Vale community.

We would like to thank all parents and carers, past and present, for the confidence in our nursey and wish all your children a successful and happy future.

Simon Wilson, Chief Executive of The Pioneer Group said:

We are truly devastated at having to close TiggyWinkles Day Nursery, which has been at the heart of the community for over two decades.

The staff are well loved, some having worked there for many years, showing extreme loyalty and professionalism, especially over the past most difficult 12 months.

In a bid to avoid closure we’ve sought partnerships with other local and national providers; ran a marketing campaign to encourage more families to use the nursery, changed the business model and reduced the two nursery sites to one to save costs.

The Pioneer Group has also provided a significant cash injection to tide the business over but despite all our best efforts, TiggyWinkles is no longer financially viable.

** For further questions please visit our Q&A page by clicking here **