New Zealand marked a major vaccination milestone today, with 90 percent of eligible Kiwis having now received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Video / NZ Herald
An early childhood centre in Tauranga is shutting due to the vaccination mandate coming into force next week.
Nestlings Preschool in Bethlehem is closing after 15 years. Photo / George Novak
The founder of Nestlings Preschool in Bethlehem says it cannot operate under the new rules.
The mandate requires anyone who has contact with children in an educational setting to have their firstvaccination dose by Monday and be fully vaccinated by January 1.
In a written statement, centre founder Berni Pringle said: "Unfortunately we are closing Nestlings Preschool due to the current mandate for all teachers to be vaccinated."
Otūmoetai mum Annett's 4-year-old daughter has attended Nestlings for two years.
Annett described the centre as a "little piece of paradise" and said she was "shocked" when Pringle called with the news last Monday.
While she understood the reasons behind the closure, she said it was such a "sad, frustrating event".
"It is very sudden and very surprising. It happened so quickly."
She said "all the parents who came in had puffy eyes" at the centre the next day. She said the last day of operation was today.She had loved Nestlings for the low student numbers, "lovely" teachers and peaceful atmosphere.
"I have another five kindies in my area, but Nestlings was just standout. I was happy to travel across town."
Annett said she was fortunate to not need to work, so she could look after her daughter from next week, but said some families had been left "hanging".
"If you have a younger child and you are full-time working, you cannot find a new centre you like that has no waiting list - it is just impossible."
Two other Bethlehem preschools said they had received a rush of calls from parents seeking placements, including from Nestlings.
First Class Education & Care head teacher Anna Cole said she had about 20 calls from parents, some "in tears".
She said Nestling's closure was "devastating" but First Class had a full roll and could not take on new children until next year.
"The working parents that are looking for full-time care, I can't do that, especially at such short notice."
Another centre's head teacher, who would not be named, said it had paused enrolments to confirm how many of its staff would be vaccinated, and would get back to Nestlings parents next week.
Ministry of Education Bay of Plenty/Waiariki education director Dawid De Villiers said it was "aware of the situation" at Nestlings Preschool.
Parents unable to find suitable alternative childcare arrangements could contact their local Education Ministry office.
"Early learning services must meet the requirements of the Public Health Order concerning mandatory vaccination ... Individual centres need to manage this requirement and we can provide support to services."
BestStart deputy chief executive Fiona Hughes said it had six staff across its 21 Bay of Plenty centres who may resign.
As of Wednesday, however, 99 per cent of Bay staff were fully vaccinated.
"We are pleased to say that we have had a very positive response to the vaccination mandate as teams step up to take responsibility for the safety of our community's youngest."
Bay of Plenty early childhood management consultant Sue Kurtovich said Nestlings' closure was "very sad" as it "removes another option for parents".
"It doesn't surprise me that it is too hard for some centres to continue, but I hope those numbers will be small," she said.
"The last thing we want to see is parents' choices being dwindled on the basis of this mandate."
She said it would be "business as usual" for some Bay centres next week, as they had indicated a fully vaccinated workforce.
But she was concerned for those losing staff over the mandate as there was already a "severe teacher shortage" in New Zealand.
"We can expect there will be some disruption [for families] because the ability to replace a teacher at the moment is pretty tough."
The Early Childhood Council chief executive Simon Laube said he was concerned about the resilience of centre managers across the country.
And while he believed the mandate had been "embraced mostly with compliance", he said it was a "very big thing" to put on an already stressed-out sector.
He anticipated there would be difficulties for centres losing staff members next week.
"It will be very hard to backfill those roles in time.
"That will then further depress the capacity because if you don't have the teachers, you can't have the children."
Nestlings Preschool is not the first Bay education provider reporting staff losses due to the mandate.
