Toad Hall nursery in Woking shuts after suspected arson attack

Toad Hall Nursery Group, which was informed about the fire at about 3.45am last Sunday and which has not had access to the building, hopes to be allowed in next week.

The group has told parents to find alternative childcare as it is not known when the 112-place nursery will reopen. ‘We don’t know the full state of the building at the moment. It would take considerable work to repair the roof,’ said the nursery group’s chief executive Ruth Pimentel.

Some of the children and staff were relocated at other Toad Hall nurseries in Surrey, namely Ripley, Ottershore and Walton-on-Thames. The group, which owns 15 nurseries, has also managed to place children in other local children’s day nurseries in Woking.

The nursery is the group’s largest setting and staff have too been relocated to the chain’s other nurseries. The group is working with the other local nursery providers about the staff transferring to support the children.

The first thing the group did was email and phone as many parents as possible about the fire. ‘A team of our managers and area managers got together and contacted as many parents on Sunday as they could,’ said Ms Pimentel. ‘Since, we have been able to email parents on a regular basis and we’ve had updates on our website.’

An effective communication method has proved to be the group’s Facebook page, which has also allowed parents to talk to one another about their situation.

Ms Pimentel said about the Facebook page, ‘We’re posting regular comments on there to parents about the situation and we’re encouraging them to get in touch. Clearly, they are concerned about their children’s belongings and learning journals, which we are hoping that we can rescue.’

Two 19-year-old boys were arrested on Sunday and released on bail. Surrey Police are in regular contact with Toad Hall.   

Ms Pimentel praised the local community’s reaction to the fire. ‘It’s lovely that providers can all come together at times of crisis. All the providers in the local area have been very supportive.

‘It shows what a strong community there was around the nursery. The thing that’s most powerful for me is just how complimentary everybody has been about the nursery; it was a key part of the community.

‘That’s the hardest bit – yes, we’ve lost our nursery, but actually they’ve lost a key part of their local community. That’s a really hard thing for very young children to understand.’

Parent Gemma Deadman said, ‘I'm still in utter shock about what has happened.’ Another parent, Craig Antill, said about his son, ‘Being two he is too young to understand. We have told him that the nursery has closed for a while while they make it bigger and better.’

The Wishbone Way Nursery had planned Christmas events for December, including a trip to the panto. The group is hoping to still go ahead with those and has already arranged a Christmas party later this month for the staff, children and parents at an ex-Sea Cadets building next to the burnt nursery.