Parents campaign to save last CfBT nursery from closure

CfBT currently has 16 academies and free schools, with another three opening in September.

According to the charity, its trustees agreed in 2011 to cease operating its portfolio of nine standalone nurseries in England.

The Trust will continue to deliver its Birth to Five Service across Lincolnshire, which won the Nursery World 2012 Working with Parents award, as well as its five nursery units attached to independent schools.

CfBT Education Trust says its ‘two-year divestment programme’ is now almost complete with seven of the nine nurseries continuing to operate under new ownership.

In 2011, the Trust sold four of its settings, Cherry Trees Nursery (Slough), Children’s House Nursery (Binfield), Norwood Manor Nursery (Norwood) and Silchester Manor Day Nursery (Taplow) to the nursery group All About Children.

Before selling the nurseries to All About Children, CfBT Education Trust was listed in Nursery World’s Nursery Chains 2011 as the 14th largest nursery chain in the UK and Ireland.

The Trust went on to sell Pipers Day Nursery in Chorley and Moorlands Day Nursery in Bolton to the nursery managers last year.

Parkway Day Nursery in Middlesborough was also sold to the nursery manager last month.

Langley Nursery in Berkshire was closed in March and the Trust’s remaining setting, Westbourne House Day Nursery in Lancaster, is set to close at the end of next month.

Carol Glover, head of UK contracts at CfBT Education Trust, said, ‘CfBT remains committed to the direct delivery of education to children and young people worldwide. However, in reviewing our operations we have decided to focus on school, academy and free school provision and exit the nursery and early years education market.

‘Our divestment programme has been focused on selling the nursery businesses to ensure that provision continues for parents and children and employment is maintained for staff.  We have been successful in achieving this in all but two of our settings where unfortunately we have had to close the nurseries. I know this is extremely upsetting for everyone involved in these settings, particularly staff and parents at Westbourne House Day Nursery, but it has been unavoidable.’

Parents of Westbourne House Day Nursery, who are campaigning against the closure of the setting, have started a petition.

The petition-‘CfBT save Westbourne House Day Nursery from closing’, on the Change.org website, has more than 270 signatures.

A blog started by the parents, ‘Save our nursery’, suggests they are considering clubbing together to raise the £500,000 needed to buy the setting, based in a Grade II listed building.