Salisbury nursery closes without notice

Immaculate Tots, a nursery in Old Sarum, closed suddenly on Thursday (8th June), without notice.

Parents received a message from the nursery that day, telling them to pick up their children because the nursery had shut 'for good'.

Director Rita Okorie has put the closure down to recruitment retention challenges and 'high costs'.

'The ever-increasing operational cost has made it impossible to sustain the day to day running of the nursery,' Rita said.

'It was more than a business to me. It is such a shame that I have to walk away from the vocation that I loved'.

The closure came after an OFSTED inspection on the 26th April told the nursery it 'required improvements'.

But high costs and staffing concerns made implementing the necessary changes impossible for Immaculate Tots.

Rita said: 'This has caused so much anxiety, my stress levels have become unhealthy and there was no way we would have carried.'

The nursery first opened in 2018 as an expansion of Rita's childminding business.

Rita wanted to thank her staff and apologise to the parents: 'as a mum myself, with children. I understand the disruption that this closure would cause

'We are so sorry that we had to suddenly close.'

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.