23 September 2024
The Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, Deputy Rob Ward, in conjunction with the Jersey
Child Care Trust (JCCT), is opening a new nursery provision for 2–3-year-olds with additional needs,
at d’Auvergne School.
This provision is one of a number of initiatives taking place to support the Minister’s ambition to
extend the nursery and childcare provision for children aged 2-3, within the Government’s
Common Strategic Policy (CSP) 2024-2026.
The nursery will open in October and is a pilot scheme; the opportunity to open more 2-3
provisions within Government primary schools is being explored.
Deputy Ward said: “I’m delighted that we are able to offer this provision to parents and families in
the coming weeks. It is the first step, and one of a number of possible options we’re looking at to
achieve the universal offer for 2- to 3-year-olds.
“I committed to these pilots when I became Minister, as part of this Government’s Common
Strategic Policy, and reaching this point is the culmination of a lot of hard work.
“I’d like to thank the Jersey Child Care Trust and the d'Auvergne leadership team for creating this
new provision at such pace.”
Headteacher of d’Auvergne, Sam Cooper said: “This marks an exciting new chapter for the school
and makes clear sense to use free space in primary schools to expand our nursery provision. We’re
very happy to support the pilot in any way we can and look forward to welcoming more children
into our wider school community”.
The provision will be known as ‘Play and Learn at d'Auvergne’ and will include the children’s
families too, by inviting them to join in with Play and Learn sessions once a week.
Fiona Vacher, Executive Director of JCCT said: "We know the life changing impact that a good
quality, early years' experience has on children and particularly those with developmental and
financial need. Previously JCCT has been unable to fund a part-time nursery place for every child
who needed it because of a lack of available nursery places.
“When the Minister for Education approached us, we knew we had to prioritise creating 'Play and
Learn at d'Auvergne' as we want to make sure that every child has access to the nurture, care and
learning they need to thrive."
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