Nursery to Close Temporarily Amid Staff Shortages

One-Day Nursery Closure to Affect 70 Families Due to Staff Shortages

Seventy families will be impacted when the Busy Bees nursery in Jersey temporarily closes its doors on Friday, citing ongoing staff shortages.

Jersey Leeward, which operates the nursery, said it has spent several months attempting to recruit and retain qualified early years staff but has not been able to meet the necessary staffing levels.

The nursery described the decision to close as “a last resort,” despite proactive efforts to promote careers in early childhood education. It also noted that the issue reflects a wider national shortage of childcare professionals.

“The safety and wellbeing of the children in our care is our highest priority,” the nursery said in a statement. “Because we cannot guarantee the required staffing levels, we have made the difficult decision to close for the day.”

The nursery apologised to parents for the short notice and the inconvenience, thanking them for their patience and understanding.

Efforts were made to find temporary cover through sister nurseries within the Jersey Leeward group, but these attempts were unsuccessful.

The organisation reiterated its commitment to recruiting new staff and collaborating with partner nurseries to ensure ongoing operations. It stressed that legal staffing ratios and qualified supervision requirements must be met to remain open — a standard it said it is currently unable to achieve for Friday’s operation.