Two university nurseries still under threat
The fate of two university nurseries threatened with closure by the University of Westminster remains in the balance following a temporary reprieve.
Staff and parents were told by the university in the summer that it could no longer afford to keep open its two London nurseries in Marylebone and Harrow and they would have to close in September (News, 23 July).
Eight staff would be made redundant and 40 children forced to find other childcare facilities.
Parents and staff mounted a campaign supported by Unison and the University and College Union, collecting more than 1,000 signatures.
Managers at the university agreed to reconsider and gave the nurseries a temporary reprieve.
Jackie Haynes, nursery manager at the Harrow setting, said, 'I and the other manager, Teresa Lorenzo, are meeting with the registrar and the managers on 30 October to put forward our business plan, with our reasons on why the nurseries should stay open. They are making their decision on 2 November.
'It is very hard for the staff, not knowing what is going to happen, and many student parents have said they will be forced to give up their studies if the nurseries close.'
Ms Haynes wants Westminster to 'start thinking outside the box' and utilise the nurseries for other things such as training and offering childcare courses.
The university's Unison branch secretary Barry Blinko claims that closing the two nurseries will only save around £141,000 a year, at a time when the university is planning to spend more than £1m on upgrading a single reception area.
He said, 'We're calling for this plan to be halted and for an opportunity to sit down with management and look at new ways of generating income from a valuable facility that benefits students, staff and the wider communities we serve.'
A university spokeswoman said, 'An independent report into the nurseries concluded that, although they are run by "enthusiastic and deeply caring staff", further investment will be required soon in addition to the current running costs.
'The parents of the 40 children currently using the nurseries, as well as the staff working there, are now being consulted on the potential closure of the facilities. If the decision to close is upheld, the nursery will close its doors on 31 December 2009.'
Westminster is just one of a number of campuses where nurseries have closed or been threatened with closure over the past year. A joint campaign to save them has been launched by Unison, the National Union of Students and the University and College Union (News, 24 September.)
