The centre has announced it will be finally closing its doors at the end of the academic year due to a lack of funding, after almost 40 years helping both children and adults conquer dyslexia.
The centre had been surviving on donations since losing States funding in 2023, with Education, Sport & Culture stating that support for the learning disorder would be provided within schools.
Jane Pearson, a part-time teacher at the centre who assisted pupils with maths, said the individual support offered by the centre helped children reach their true potential.
‘Teachers in schools today, with the best intentions, cannot provide that individual support that matters,’ she said.
‘They are just too busy.
‘It is most disappointing that Guernsey is losing such a fabulous resource, and it's quite shortsighted that the Education Committee feels it can do the work in-house.’
Mrs Pearson said her own daughter had been one of the children to benefit from the centre’s support.
‘I am very disappointed that the same support is not available now for children going forward,’ she said.
‘I understand money needs to be saved but in the long run weaker students will yield poorer results.’
Parent Charisma Lyall said the support her daughter had received had been invaluable. 'It is a real shame they are closing,’ she said.
‘I feel it will take significantly longer for children to get help and that will see them fall behind.
‘These are children that are equally intelligent and should not be treated like second class citizens because of a learning disability.’
Andy Sloan has a child who has also attended the centre. He said he was disappointed with the announcement.
‘I lamented the funding being originally cut and it was inevitable the centre would close,’ he said.
‘As a rich jurisdiction we should be able to fund amenities like this.
'We are clearly spending our money on the wrong things if we can't keep centres like this open.’
He added that the centre’s closure felt like a retrograde step.
‘Bringing support into schools and training teachers is great but they don’t have to be mutually exclusive,’ he said.
‘The two can reinforce each other.’
The day centre was based at the site of St Andrew’s former primary school, which closed in 2015 before being adapted into a community centre.
It shared the site, which is owned by the parish, with a nursery, dance school and the recently opened indoor skateboard park.
Senior constable Greg Robert that the parish was unsure what would happen to the part of the building currently used by the school.
‘It may be that one of the other people using the site expand or new tenants are found,’ he said.
‘The site has its own board of directors and it will be for them to look at options going forward.’
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