Elgin nursery announces closure after failure to recruit manager

Rainbow Castle Childcare in Elgin has announced it will close at the end of term following an unsuccessful search for a new manager.

The childcare facility, which currently has 57 children aged two to five, has been without a specialist nursery manager since early March.

Temporary arrangements for the nursery to be managed by Moray Leisure Centre do not meet the long-term requirements of the Care Inspectorate.

As a result, it will now shut at the end of the summer term on June 27.

Inspectors issued a requirement for the nursery to ensure a suitable candidate was in place to oversee operations by September 1, however, this has not materialised.

Back in March, the Care Inspectorate identified the facility as having “weak” leadership and management because of a period without a manager.

They also said that temporary arrangements involving oversight by managers at Moray Leisure were not enough to safeguard the welfare of children and staff.

Moray Leisure Centre‘s operations and finance manager Alexandrea Macleod said:  “Unfortunately, despite extensive efforts, we have been unable to find a candidate with the necessary experience.

“The Care Inspectorate requirements coincide with a need for significant investment in the building in order to meet modern day standards for nursery provision.

“This means that, as well as being unable to recruit a nursery manager, we can’t offer the facility to other nursery providers.

“Therefore, we have sadly concluded that nursery provision at Rainbow Castle Childcare is ending.”

Parents were alerted to the ongoing recruitment problem in April and asked to plan for alternative nursery provision for the 2025/26 term.

Redundancies

Moray Council is reallocating childcare places at other nurseries and Moray Leisure is supporting parents and their children during this process.

At the same time, all 13 Rainbow Castle Childcare staff were consulted on potential redundancy and have been updated on the situation today.

Ms Macleod added: “We want to thank both parents and staff for their understanding during a very difficult time.

“In particular, want to recognise the many years of excellent care provided by our dedicated staff, which inspectors noted for their kindness and care.”