Rugby's Pathfinders Day Nursery to shut after struggling through pandemic

Pathfinders Day Nursery on Bawnmore Road is to shut in April after sustained pressure brought about by the pandemic.

Steve and Alison Dyke, who have leased the site since 2015, said they reluctantly concluded they would need to close the nursery, and will be winding business down over the next eight weeks.

The pair had been the leaseholders since 2015, and the nursery had been successful, achieving an Ofsted Outstanding rating for its work with children from two to four years old.

Crescent School has been taking on more pupils since joining the Princethorpe Foundation in 2016, so the the senior team and trustees have decided to take over the nursery building to be used by the school.

Joe Thackway, headmaster of Crescent School, said: “We are saddened that the nursery has been so badly impacted by the challenges of the past year and understand the difficulties the closure will cause families and the nursery staff.

"We have excellent relationships with many outstanding local nurseries and will do whatever we can to assist families with finding alternative nursery provision.

“By accepting the building back, we will have the opportunity to develop our campus further, particularly in terms of accommodation for Music, the Performing Arts and our Before and After School Wrap-Around Care.”

The building will be handed back to the Foundation at the end of June which will allow the school time to prepare properly for the start of the new academic year in September.

An online meeting for the Crescent community to expand on this announcement and outline plans for the building will take place from 7.00pm on Thursday, February 11.