In December, Nursery World reported that Harp Nurseries had 20 settings after purchasing 26 sites from Welcome. Five of the 26 nurseries closed, while one was taken over by Ashbourne Nurseries.
However, according to the nursery group’s new website, it has a total of 12 sites. This means that more than half of the settings Harp originally acquired from Welcome, in a pre-pack administration deal, have now ceased operating, based upon the information from Harp's website.
Meanwhile Harp’s entry on Ofsted suggests it still has 16 nurseries registered. The inspectorate has been contacted for a response.
When Harp Nurseries was contacted for a comment, it failed to respond.
It comes after Harp Nurseries’ managing director Richard Boulton left the company, leaving just one director Sarah Blyth, along with owner Simon Fox.
The eight nurseries that appear to have closed are:
- Forrest Children’s Day Nursery in Enderby, Leicestershire
- The Hollies Day Nursery in Huddersfield – confirmed by Ofsted.
- Cedar Day Nursery in Clayton West, Huddersfield – confirmed by Ofsted.
- Aspen House Children’s Day Nursery on Millstone Lane, Leicester
- Magnolia Day Nursery in Alfreton
- Hazel Tree Day Nursery in Preston – confirmed by Ofsted.
- Sunflower Children’s Day Nursery in Kent
- Maple Tree Children’s Day Nursery in Congleton – confirmed by Ofsted.
According to local reports, Sunflower Children’s Day nursery in Kent (Chatham) closed on Tuesday (31 January), while Magnolia Day Nursery in Alfreton shut just before Christmas. In both cases, parents were given no more than a week’s notice.
A letter sent to parents using the setting in Kent, published by the local paper, suggests that the nursery was forced to shut due to ‘recruitment difficulties’ and that a ‘number of staff had recently resigned’, but did not disclose why.
The story goes on to say that the nursery group said ‘any monies which will need to be refunded will be done in “due course”.
Vince Maple, leader of the Medway Labour and Co-operative Group and councillor for Chatham Central, who claims he was told by the nursery group not to attend the site to offer support to impacted parents and staff following the news, said, ‘Like most residents I was very surprised to hear the unexpected announcement by Harp Nurseries about the closure of Sunflower Nursery.
‘I want to place on record my thanks to the local team who have delivered amazing nursery services for nearly two decades, led by the fantastic leadership team of Rachel and Vicky who themselves have been at the nursery collectively more than 30 years.
‘I'm concerned that being the only Harp Nursery in Kent may have meant the support and investment by the owners hasn't been at the level required. ‘
Alfreton nursery
Similarly, reports suggest parents using the Alfreton site were sent a letter on 23 December from Harp blaming health and safety issues that would cost a ‘significant’ amount to repair on the closure.
- Have you been impacted by the closure of one of the Harp Nurseries? If so, please get in touch by emailing: news.nw@markallengroup.com
