Tom Shea gave up his position as chief executive and a director of the Jigsaw board on 15 August following illness last year, from which he is now recovering. He will remain as an advisor to the board and will continue his involvement with a number of Government advisory groups, including the working group currently looking at developing a vocational degree in childcare.
Mr Shea said, 'We have been building up a strong infrastructure and management team to make sure the framework is as sturdy as the foundations. Nursery managers now report to Jane James, our development director. I would have preferred to step down six months to a year later, but my health took a turn for the worse last year. I'm absolutely confident that nothing can stop Jigsaw now.'
Launched in 1989, Jigsaw is one of the UK's oldest nursery groups and has pursued a policy of expansion through building purpose-built units. It provides places for 4,104 children and is second only to Asquith Court Schools in size.
Mr Shea said parents were now 'much more aware of their choices' than when he first set up the group, following 20 years' previous experience in the childcare field. 'They are beginning to understand what the role of childcare is, that it is not babysitting. They are demanding more and better. That means training has to be better and that will ultimately lead to childcare becoming a true profession.'
Jigsaw chairman Les Cullen, who joined the company in early July and whose background includes working as finance director of blue-chip companies such as Prudential, said the nursery group planned to open units at the rate of one a month. It currently operates 28 and has eight or nine more under construction.
In November Nursery World reported that Jigsaw had taken out a further loan of 4.5m from its backers, venture capitalists 3i, at high rates of interest, to enable it to continue with its nursery opening programme. Mr Cullen said 3i had recently refinanced the group, providing 'a substantial amount of money'. 'They are pleased with the investment,' he added.
He did not rule out expanding the group by buying up other providers in the future, if the staff and premises were of a suitable standard. But Mr Cullen said that a flotation - making shares available to the public to buy on the stock exchange - was unlikely in the near future because of current market conditions.
