Outrage as Reform council votes to shut 10 nurseries

[Whenthecriwdsayno]

During a childcare prices where private nursery fees as astronomical. The council decides to close 10 publicly funded nurseries leaving many working families struggling.

www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/parents-campaigners-devastated-south-tyneside-34667702.amp

I can see this must be a huge disappointment to those using the nurseries, but I had never heard of council funded nurseries and was surprised that they existed.

The report says that (according to the council) that these nurseries are costing the council over £1m a year and that there are places available in other private nurseries (for which presumably government funding will be available in the normal way).

I think all councils have difficult decisions to make in managing their budgets. Most seem to be struggling to pay for the things they have a legal obligation to provide, such as social care and SEN education, so it’s perhaps not surprising that this council has decided to save £1m by cutting a service that they have no legal obligation to provide, however much it is valued by local residents.

Didn't really expect Deform to be supportive of women and children, did you?

The nurseries were costing £10m a year and the council is in deficit so I can understand the reasoning.

Think of all those SEN children forced out of their independent schools, when they weren't costing the public purse a penny. That is harder to understand.

The distress and disruption to staff, parents and children's lives is the same. Horrible.

I assume you use private education and childcare for your children and have a very very closed life and are as far away from a regular person as anyone can be ! Never heard of council.run nursery 🙄

Are the nurseries frequented by the benefits claiming non working? Cos that would be right up Reform’s street.

They don't care about the families that will be affected, sadly people have been duped into voting reform and getting what they voted for.

That's a really stupid comment to make. They can't make money out of nothing.
In this situation they can't do right for doing wrong. Everyone would be moaning if they put up the Community Charge to pay for this.

And what happened to all the extra teachers we were promised for schools? Now Private Schools are closing this Gvt are supposed to be saving shedloads of money.

Or it's a financial necessity. Every council, regardless of political allegiances or preferences, has to balance the books and meet their legal obligations - social care for the elderly, libraries etc.

Our LibDem council has made horrendous cuts to some services. Our youth team only still exists because we have a charity grant, and only for this year.

Our council nurseries and holiday clubs closed long ago.

The cost of nurseries were going up by inflation (according to this thread) and cost the council £100 million billion a year.
Also women in the workplace. Has it ever really worked?

Exactly.
The roads in my area are so full of potholes they look like a moonscape.
Apparently. they've had the money from Central Government but it wasn't 'ringfenced' so it's been spent on Social Care. 😮

I agree. No Reform councils up here, but the many Labour and SNP councils have also cut huge numbers of services. For example, I used Labour council funded wraparound care for our youngest which was a godsend but they cut that a few years after he left sadly. When we have a gap between the tax take and council expenditure then difficult decisions have to be made that affect people adversely.

The council-run nurseries that are run at a deficit are often the only way that low-income families can access the so-called "free" early years education childcare. The private nurseries that have plenty of spare spaces have complex charging structures that make it virtually impossible to just get the free hours with no extra costs, because that's the only way they make a profit.

Ko need for them. Private nurseries now have funding to offset fees. Council nurseries are generally used by those who dont.work as.they dont open during early morning.or late evening hours for working parents. If people dont work, look after your own kids or use private where they will get government funding anyway.

It must be regional. There aren’t any in my area either, only the term time morning or afternoon provision for 3 and 4 year olds, attached to primary schools.

There are council supported playgroups in a neighbouring area. They are half day sessions during term time, too. Absolutely no use to anyone working. Which actually successfully targets the children from the most disadvantaged homes.

My local Labour council has shut the specialist dementia care unit and day centre and also the small satellite community college centre.

There just isn’t enough money and councils are making awful decisions across all parties.

What an odd comment! I am a perfectly regular person, whatever that means!

My children are now in their twenties. Yes I did use private childcare - a combination of private nurseries and childminders - for the simple reason that there was no alternative (other than not working) in either of the areas I lived when they were small.

I have never heard of council-run nurseries because I have never lived anywhere that has one. As far as I am aware no friends and family who live in other areas have ever had access to one either.