PARENTS want the States to start funding nursery places now before childcare provision in the Island reaches ‘crisis point’.

As private nurseries around the Island are forced to close because of financial difficulties, parents are being asked to lobby their States Members to get funding in place to provide equity in Jersey’s childcare services.

Sunny Smiles pre-school in St Ouen closed last Friday, the under-two section of Goose Corner Nursery at Beaumont will close in January and Brig-y-Don Pre-School announced this week that it would also be closing next month.

Zoe Bisson, of the Parents’ Action Group, said it was crucial that the States took action before further private nurseries were forced to close.

‘If many more nurseries shut down we fear that childcare provision in the Island will reach crisis point and working parents who need a year-round nursery will be unable to find one,’ she said.

‘The impact of existing and further closures is that working mothers are being forced to stay at home, resulting in increased financial burdens for taxpayers.

We have been telling States Members for two years that childcare provision needs to be addressed urgently.

Education Minister Mike Vibert must listen and must act on this now.’