PARENTS are upset after a pre-school in Worcester has abruptly closed.

Owners of Little Squirrels Early Years and Pre School, in Birchwood Mill, Northwick Close, announced the closure on Sunday, February 16.

A sign has been placed on the nursery's gate which states that the instant closure was due to a delay in staff suitability checks, which led to insufficient staff to meet the requirements.

But, a Worcester mum, who wants to remain unnamed, said she feels distressed by the closure, adding: “They sent an email out late Sunday afternoon saying that they will have to close because of extensive DBS checks, and they can’t get staff.

“All us parents are in shock. We tried calling and messaging the owners but there was no answer.”

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The 40-year-old added: “People are trying to get their money back as they have paid in advance.

"We are all quite distressed by it. All our children were friends and would have been going to school together. No one had chance to say goodbye or collects their things.”

The sign reads: “This is with the greatest sadness that unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances; Little Squirrels has to cease operating with immediate effect.

“We understand the tremendous difficulties this will cause you at such short notice, but it is unavoidable, and this decision is final.

“The reasons we have no option except to close immediately are centred on Ofsted’s regulations of staff suitability checks taking so long.

“We had staff in place, however, due to the delay in them being processed by Ofsted, this has left us with insufficient staff to meet the requirements.

“This is a shock brought to light this weekend. We will be contacting Worcestershire Early Years to hopefully assist you in finding alternative places.

“We appreciate you may have an urge to speak to us immediately, but this is a very stressful time for us too.

“There will be follow ups with regard to administrative matters personally as soon as we possibly can.

“It is heart-breaking for us to lose our incredible children and families as we love every single one of them dearly and have the utmost respect for all our parents."

The nursery - which has also been listed as ‘permanently closed’ according to Google Maps - operated from Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6pm.