Save Purley Nursery School!!!
Tldr:
Here is a personal plea as a parent and resident of Purley. Please provide your thoughts on the impact of closing Purley Nursery (or amalgamating it with another) would have on the community.
If you have any ideas on how to make maintained nursery’s more sustainable or cost effective please share your thoughts. Personally I think Purley nursery is sustainable. The survey is below. Please, spread the word also. We need to safeguard Purley Nursery.
https://www.getinvolved.croydon.gov.uk/mns
Long version:
Last night, 25 Sept 23, I got back from a non statutory consultation regarding the potential closure or amalgamation of maintained nursery schools in Croydon.
Apparently comes down to two things funding and sustainability.
From a funding aspect, Croydon Council are saying maintained nursery schools are running at a deficit. The reasons given are that maintained nursery need to pay head teachers, SENCOs etc… whereas private nursery’s do not.
Furthermore, actual funding for schools come from central government. The additional excuse to closing maintained nursery’s is that parents have other options such as childminders, nanny’s and private nurserys.
From a sustainability aspect they are saying a reduced birth rate is also a reason for the consideration of closure or amalgamation.
Now, I’m sorry to come across as flippant this news feels like the government has complete disregard and contempt to single parents and work families struggling to get by.
The excuses given are equally contemptuous, such as the idea that there are other options and the decline in birth rate.
Doesnt the government understand that perversely these excuses are the root cause as to why we are in this situation in the first place?
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People can’t afford kids and thus choose to delay or not have children
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Parents have so few options in terms of maintained nursery schools and presented with no choice but to cough up for all the private nursery’s, Nannie’s and childminders to fill the void.
Even for non-parents, most people know friends, colleagues or siblings that are struggling with childcare. Childcare is ridiculously eye wateringly expensive, the 30 hours “free childcare” do not stretch far enough in a private nursery environment (with parents still having to fork out at least 50% of private costs - even with free childcare) and most parents (low and middle income) are either considering giving up full time work or paying out what can sometimes be over 1k in nursery fees every month. Many compare these costs almost like a second mortgage or rent in terms of monetary amount.
Back to the point, closure of maintained nursery schools will have significant negative impact for working families and single parents. It will impact their finances, their mental health and their child’s overall development and well-being. Maintained nursery’s are a lifeline for working/single parents, especially those on low incomes.
Many parents don’t even know the difference between maintained nursery schools and private nursery’s/day care - oblivious to the personal cost savings and improvements to their lives. The 30 hours are mostly covered for the key hours and the ancillary hours for round the clock care such as breakfast or after school is much more affordable compared to private nursery’s.
Also, let’s also not forget that maintained nursery’s are actually “schools” not private businesses. This is really important because private nursery can revoke a child’s place at any time which can be extremely distressing if the child has early signs of delayed communication issues/ autism etc. Maintained nursery’s cannot reject a child this way and have their own SENCo and safeguarding in place.
Now, about Purley Nursery School. I need to save it and I need your help. This school welcomed my child in open arms after being turfed out by a private nursery nearby. Note there are only two other private nursery’s in the local area of Purley. Both oversubscribed so they can pick and choose the “best” babies/toddlers and leave/turf out the more “challenging” who need the most support, care and attention.
Purley Nursery school is the only maintained nursery within walking distance of Purley town centre. All other nurseries in the area are private enterprises. Purley Nursery is also rated as Outstanding by Ofsted and is in federation with Christ Church primary school. If you see all the little kids with red uniforms, most would be attending this primary school and some would graduates from Purley nursery as well.
Purley Nursery is absolutely vital to the local community of Purley. It is as vital as the local train station to get to work, the local church to worship, the local post office, the local Tesco’s for shopping. It is vital piece of Purley societal infrastructure and closure will have a grave impact on the community if we do not make our voices heard (more on this below).
Most people past and present have had their kids or grandchildren attend this school. It is the only nursery school that is affordable. There is no comparison to private nurseries that are expensive, hard to regulate and can turf your child or close its doors with very little notice. For those that don’t know, Purley Nursery is rated Outstanding by Ofsted.
Central government and Croydon Council need to keep Purley Nursery School open. It is simply too valuable to the local community.
There seems to be this downward spiral and race to the bottom.
For example, have they not considered that the reason why the decline is birth rate might be because people are choosing not to have children because the child care costs especially during the early years is so expensive?
Have they also not considered that the reason why there are so many private nurseries, nannies and child minders is because there is not enough maintained nursery’s in the area and have to resort to paying expensive mortgage like fees every month?
Have they not considered that private nursery’s spaces are also limited and there is a finite amount of funding before a child is considered “economically infeasible”.
Have they not considered that despite the extortionate cost of private childcare most private nursery businesses are closing because they themselves cannot keep the nursery financially feasible.
To the government, not just Croydon, here’s a thought, let’s actually increase maintained nursery’s to ease the financial burden of working families and single parent families. You’re here to govern society not to run a business. Don’t run it into the ground.
If you have any ideas on how to make maintained nursery’s more sustainable or cost effective please share your thoughts. Personally I think Purley nursery is sustainable. The survey is below. Please, spread the word also. We need to safeguard Purley Nursery.
https://www.getinvolved.croydon.gov.uk/mns