3 nurseries to close at Heart of Worcestershire College

Heart of Worcestershire College is set to shut the two nurseries at its campus in Deansway, Worcester, as well as the childcare facility at its Bromsgrove site.

At the Worcester campus there is one nursery at the St Wulstans Building and one at the All Saints Building, offering places to children of students, staff and the general public.

The Allington Play Tec nursery, which opened in July 1992, and Baby Tec, which was launched in September 2003, offer care for up to 45 children aged between 3 months and 5 years in total across the two sites.

Both nurseries have been rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted since 2012.

At the Bromsgrove College Campus, New Beginnings Nursery also offers spaces to students and staff of the college and the general public, with 38 places in total.

Leaders at the college blamed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the “continued underfunding of the further education sector” for the potential closures.

A spokesman for the college said: “Sadly, like many other organisations, Heart of Worcestershire College has been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and when the financial impact caused by Covid-19 is considered, alongside the continued underfunding of the further education sector – a situation which has been ongoing for many years.

"It has put us in a position where we are no longer able to provide some services, and instead need to focus the limited funding we receive on our core business of delivering learning and supporting our learners to progress and succeed.”

The spokesman added that the college is “currently in consultation” with staff working at the nurseries under threat and will “continue to support staff and the users of the nurseries during this difficult time”.

It was not known at the time we went to print exactly how many nursery staff at the college would be affected by the closures.

The number of students enrolled at the college is around 10,000 across the county.