College nursery closure leaves parents with childcare dilemma
Catherine Gaunt
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Eighteen nursery staff at a college nursery, which provides childcare for students and working parents, will lose their jobs by Christmas.
The Positive Steps nursery at East Durham College, which provides childcare for more than 75 families in Peterlee, will close on 17 December because the nursery lost £100,000 in the 2009/10 financial year. The college runs another nursery at another campus, which is unaffected by the closure, but is full.
Parents fighting the closure say they were not consulted by the college and were only told of the plan to shut the nursery earlier this month.
They say nursery management were only recently told the nursery was losing money and that more could have been done to save the nursery.
Some families told Nursery World they will have to give up jobs because they cannot find space in another nursery.
Student parents Damien and Danielle McDonald have 18-month-old twins at the nursery.
Mr McDonald said, 'The nursery is having to turn people away. They've closed it down that fast - it's an overnight job.'
Mr McDonald also claimed that a business plan devised by the staff was turned down, despite the fact it showed the nursery could make a £45,000 a year profit.
Margaret Hodgson, whose granddaughter Georgia attends the nursery, said she will have to give up her job to help her daughter with childcare. 'It's a community college to help people back into work. It doesn't seem right at all,' she said.
Nicci Lee, whose 22-month-old daughter Grace attends the nursery, said, 'Obviously I've got to find another nursery but all the nurseries have a full intake. From what I've heard from other parents, the college is fobbing us off.'
A college spokesperson said, 'Income generated by the nursery fell from 07/08 to 09/10 and the same period saw an increase in costs resulting in the increasing losses year on year. It did have to turn away some parents where there was no space for certain aged children but there was excess capacity for other age groups.
'The college's priority is to provide first class learning provision to its learners and it is unable to continue to subsidise childcare from this commercial venture.
'The College would welcome interest from any other organisation or commercial venture that would like to discuss taking over the nursery.'
More on this story at http://blog.nurseryworld.co.uk/
