Ashbourne Nurseries saves Harp Group setting from permanent closure

At the end of October, Nursery World reported that 23 of the 26 nurseries taken on by the Harp Group, which is owned by entrepreneur Simon Fox, were operating. The three remaining sites were under review.

Following this, just 20 nurseries were listed as being registered with Ofsted under the Harp Group in November. The three not registered with the inspectorate are:

• The Willows Children’s Day Nursery, formerly Welcome @ Wellingborough (Northamptonshire)
• St Peter’s Children’s Day Nursery, formerly Welcome@Thrybergh (Rotherham)
• Buttercups Children’s Day Nursery, formerly Welcome @ Leyland (Lancashire)

The Wellingborough site, which closed on 8 November after the boiler was condemned by an engineer and deemed a health and safety risk, has now been taken on by Ashbourne Nurseries, a group of 16 sites.

Nursery World understands that the setting had also not been receiving any Government funding due to the council’s refusal to do so since the summer.

We approached North Northamptonshire Council for confirmation of this, but they refused to comment on the situation.

Managing director of Harp, Richard Boulton said that this had meant they had not been receiving any income for 90 per cent of the children.

At the time of its closure, parent Tom Jones, whose three-year-old attended the nursery, said, ‘The nursery was closed with very little notice on a Monday night, and we found out via the app for parents. The following day there were parents still turning up at the setting, unaware it had been shut down. Questions remain about how this was allowed to happen.

‘We have been lucky as we found a full-time place for my son at another setting. However, other families whose children attended the nursery are still without childcare, including some with SEND and EHCPs, putting parents’ jobs at risk. Lots of those affected are of modest means. We [the community] are working hard to continue to help them, but it shouldn’t have come to this.’

Ashbourne Nurseries has now confirmed it will take over the Wellingborough setting from 1 December and all staff will be transferred over.

As soon as its registration from Ofsted comes through, the setting will be opened.

Imran Mehdi, managing director of Ashbourne commented, ‘We are very happy to be able to assist in saving this nursery from closure, and potentially saving a number of jobs in the sector.  We aim to invest in the setting and deliver quality nursery provision in Wellingborough.’

Ashbourne already has a number of nurseries in the area, and the Wellingborough setting will become part of the nursery group’s ‘local cluster’.