Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Staff facing uncertain future after falling numbers force closure of Montrose nursery

Kirstene Hair MP has offered help to affected nursery workers
Kirstene Hair MP has offered help to affected nursery workers

Staff at a children’s nursery in Angus are facing the new year with uncertainty after losing their jobs.

A total of 27 staff members were served their redundancy notices by M&R Childcare Services Limited which ran First Steps Nursery in a converted church in John Street, Montrose.

Owners Roberta Taylor and Maureen Moir had struggled to pay staff wages amid a backdrop of falling pupil numbers at the business, which was set up in 2010.

It provided a day care service to a maximum of 146 children from birth to primary school age but this number more than halved before the doors finally closed.

Charles Sands, Insolvency Practitioner at CS Corporate Solutions in Stonehaven, has been appointed as liquidator of the company which ceased trading on December 21.

He said there has been a “sustained decline” in numbers over recent years and, despite actions taken by the directors, the nursery could not continue to operate viably.

“The difficult decision was taken to close the doors and the company has been unable to pay the staff in full for the hours they have already worked.

“The nursery has recently been caring for less than 100 children in a large converted church building and had 27 members of staff.

“The Redundancy Payments Service has been contacted and they will ensure ex-employees will receive some of the payments they are due in a much shorter timescale than if they had to wait for the assets of the employer to be realised.”

A meeting of creditors, including directors Taylor and Moir, was held in Stonehaven on December 28.

Employees and creditors have been sent information on how they can lodge their claims.

Mr Sands continued: “First Steps was a well-established nursery with an excellent reputation and this news will be very distressing for many children, parents, teaching and all other staff past and present.

“We will do whatever we can to assist them during this difficult time.”

Angus MP Kirstene Hair has spoken of her regret over the job losses and contacted Skills Development Scotland with the view to providing help and support to those affected.

She said: “SDS events have consistently proven effective at getting skilled valuable employees back in the workforce.

“I have been in touch with the agency and want to help all former nursery staff find a new job.

“This will be devastating news for families at the hardest time of year.

“A multi-agency approach would end much of their uncertainty in 2019.”