A new mum has shared her experience of her ‘disastrous' childcare situation after a nearby nursery closed down leaving her with nowhere to send her daughter.

Sarah Slator, from North Leigh, was hoping nine-month-old Eira would join Stepping Stones nursery in Deer Park, Witney, in September.

However, she found out the nursery closed down within a couple of weeks of her due start date.

Stepping Stones in Edington Square closed its doors on August 19.

A message on its website says: "We will miss all our families and children dearly and we wish you all the best of luck."

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Ms Slator, who works in administration at Oxford Brookes University, said: “I was told there were several reasons the nursery closed but mainly it was staffing issues. Two weeks before I had to take in some paperwork and there seemed to be no problem.

"As for childcare, we have not got anything sorted yet. I’m trying to get a childminder but she’s been bad at calling back so now I’m not sure I want to leave Eira with her.

“I’m largely working from home but next week I’ll be going into the office. Me and my partner will have to manage with annual leave, each of us taking a day off a week.

“We’ve actually been thinking of relocating to be near my partner’s parents as a back-up. There were several reasons for it but the childcare situation has really crystallised it.

“Oxford Brookes are being as flexible as they can be but it’s still not good for the team. And I’ve only just come back from holiday."

Many parents are facing similar issues as several pre-schools in Oxfordshire have closed with childcare providers struggling to recruit and facing increased energy, food and staffing costs.

Pippins Day Nursery in Headington in Oxford has also recently announced it is closing.

And Teresa Juggins, manager of Robin Pre-School in Kidlington, told the BBC the pre-school, which is a registered charity, gets the bulk of its funding from the Government but has been running at a loss for three years.

Ms Juggins said: "Funding doesn't cover the full sessions, parents can't afford to send their children, and we're also having trouble recruiting staff because the wages are so low."

A parent with children at Leafield Pre-School, another registered charity, which has been open for 60 years next year, said they were "struggling".

She said: "The pre-school is absolutely not about to close down, but we are currently fundraising and taking matters into our own hands.

"The nursery provides snacks, they've gone up, heating and everything has gone up," she said.

Nursery closures are up by 65 per cent between April and July compared with last summer, according to the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA).

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Meanwhile cash-strapped families are seeing hikes in childcare costs, which is already one of the biggest costs facing working families.

Sending a child under two to nursery for 25 hours each each week now stands at £7,212 on average - up from £7,160 last year, according to children's charity Coram.

A Government spokesperson said: “We have spent more than £4 billion in each of the past five years to support families with the cost of childcare.

"The number of childcare places available remains stable, as it has since 2015, and thousands of parents are benefitting from this support.

“We know there are challenges facing the sector, which is why we are increasing funding to support employers with their costs, investing millions in better training for staff working with pre-school children and have set out plans to help providers run their businesses more flexibly.

"This includes plans to support more childminders into the market by reducing upfront costs."

She added that if a childcare provider closes or a parent cannot find a place, they should contact their local authority for help finding alternate places.

Ms Slator said: "When having a baby I knew of course that childcare costs would be a massive burden.

"I didn't ever think that just obtaining a place for her would be so darn difficult."

Stepping Stones has been approached for comment.

 

 

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