The establishment won their day - The Sunrise & Sunset Holiday Club is closing their doors

I thought you might like to know after a lot of thought & consideration, I have had to make the tough decision to stop running Holiday Clubs in Christ Church School in Chorleywood.

The Chorleywood Parish Council’s, Open Spaces Sub Committee, decision to maintain their stance of charging us for the children in our care to use The Common despite the 426 signatures on this petition requesting them to to review their decision played a major part in my decision. 

The justification used ‘You are a business, therefore you have to pay’, in my opinion demonstrated a lack of nuanced thinking. The Councillors didn’t seem able to understand that I have always considered & therefore run our childcare as a service to the community. This lack of understanding & support for what we do for the community has left me feeling both undervalued & not heard. 

On top of this, the Chess Valley Primary Learning Trust (CVPLT) has increased our rental charges by 35%. This means that our overall ‘premises’ costs have been increased by 55%. These are on now top of the recent increases in London Living Wage & National Insurance. 

Some have said ‘just add these increase’s onto your prices’. However I already feel our prices are on the high side (even though we have absorbed some of the recent increases in staffing costs). I think if we just keep passing on the increases, we are in danger of becoming unaffordable to a lot of hardworking families therefore pricing ourselves out of the market . Running a Holiday Club where we are open & vulnerable to open market forces has been a very different experience to running a Before & After School Club when we had more of a monopoly. I believe considered pricing has been key to our success.  And very sadly, our margins are so small, I can’t absorb any more extra costs. 

So the situation is untenable for me. WHY?

1) The responsibility of providing childcare is now sitting too heavily with me. Hence I no longer want to try to balance the many risks (financial, health & safety, staffing/employment, liability, my personal reputation etc) accompanied with tight regulation (OFSTED / Food Hygiene regulation). 

2) I wish to educate children about the positive psychological effects of the outdoors & nature can have on their spirits/souls, may be even learning how it can help them maintain good mental health for the rest of their lives. Any type of financial barrier from the CPC, does not sit comfortably with my soul.

So I gently bow out. I accept that the ‘establishment’ has won the day. I don’t understand their thinking & probably never will BUT I am not going to let that destroy my many good memories of taking care of many beautiful young children over the last 19 years. I just hope CPC might take this opportunity to see the consequences of their decisions & just may be going forward they might start to think in a more nuanced manner. It just might serve the Chorleywood community better …..

We have really enjoyed providing EXCELLENT childcare (recognised by OFTSED in two inspections) in the wonderful environment that Christ Church School offers since 2017. It has been hard, challenging work but also gloriously rewarding work. BUT this old bird knows when her day is up. 

I want to THANK YOU ALL ❤️ from the bottom of my humble heart for all your support singing the petition. 

Bless you - Pippa 

PS In early 2026 I will be setting up my Private Psychotherapy/Counselling Practice in my garden in a Yurt (combining the power or the outdoors & nature with therapy) in leafy Sarratt; I will be qualified & experienced in working with children, young people & adults. I am thinking my services could include some small ‘Good Mental Health’ workshops at the weekends and/or in the holidays 💚. I will be back in contact with you all to let you know more about that in early 2026. If you don’t want to be included in those communications, just let me know & I will take you off my contact list.