So many people turned up for the march on 9 February that the start was delayed by 45 minutes because only two policewomen had been sent to cover it. The marchers, who included nursery nurses, parents and school governors, had to cool their heels until reinforcements arrived.
Three days later Hounslow Council issued a statement saying its executive had agreed to 'withdraw proposals to reduce the number of nursery nurses in reception classes in favour of a reduction in growth to education budgets across all age ranges in schools'.
John Connelly, council leader, said it had 'listened to parents who told us they do not want any reduction in the quality of service for reception classes and under-fives'.
He added, 'Hounslow is spending up to 54 per cent more on services for under-fives than some of our neighbouring boroughs. However, if parents would prefer to see cuts across the whole age range rather than concentrated in reception classes then we are prepared to accept that view.'
Linda Mason, a nursery nurse at Cardinal Road Infant and Nursery School, was delighted by the council's decision. She said, 'We have won this one. Now we need to make sure that the other cuts in the education budget are not going to be too high.'
Ms Mason added, 'It's been fantastic. We've had so much support from parents - at one point I looked around at all the parents who had come into school to write letters of support to councillors and felt quite overwhelmed. Clearly, parents respect nursery nurses and the role they carry out.'
The nursery nurses' campaign kicked off in earnest just a fortnight before the council's u-turn. They secured radio and press coverage and a highly effective letter-writing campaign swung into action, with parents coming into schools across the borough to write directly to councillors, MPs and prime minister Tony Blair. Nursery children also wrote letters. Ms Mason said her school alone sent out about 1,000 letters. The nursery nurses have also gathered 16,000 signatures oppposing the council's proposals, with ten more schools to go.
The consultation period on the council's proposal to reduce the budget for reception units by 990,000 and fund them at the same rate as year one, was officially meant to end last week.
However, despite Hounslow Council's climbdown, the nursery nurses showed no signs of letting up.
They plan to continue the campaign by lobbying a council meeting this week, and giving parents consultation cards exploring the way forward.
