The council’s proposed closure of a Brighton nursery looks likely to hit children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) hardest – and could undermine the drive to reduce carbon emissions, parents said.
They have also cast doubt on the claim by Brighton and Hove City Council that the Bright Start Nursery’s premises need repairs costing more than £500,000.
And, they said, the council could move the nursery to a more suitable nearby premises, saving more than 20 jobs. The council though wants to save just over £100,000 a year from the closure.
Parents have asked to see the 2019 “condition survey” underpinning the building repair costs claim but the council said that it would not be shared until Friday 20 January.
Yet councillors are due to vote through a report aimed at justifying the closure proposal at a meeting at Hove Town Hall tomorrow (Monday 9 January).
Bright Start parents said: “Why is the council not being forthcoming with this information?
“As the survey was based on a 15-year forecast it is worth knowing whether all or part of this work can be put off … and what is considered essential and what might be simply ‘ideal’.
“The unsuitability of the building has not been a problem for 30 years and was no impediment to the nursery getting a ‘good’ Ofsted rating. Why is this suddenly a problem now?
“Have the actions and recommendations of the ‘fire risk assessment’ been implemented? There is no indication of how insurmountable or urgent these issues are or what it would cost to sort them.
“Presumably, the fact the nursery is still allowed to operate with 50+ children in it suggests there’s no immediate threat to life?”
Parents also said that even if the building costs were too high, the nursery itself – the staff, children and equipment – could move rather than close. And they suggested two nearby suitable premises.
They also cited at least one inaccuracy about the condition of the premises in the report due to be discussed by the council’s Children, Young People and Skills Committee tomorrow.
They said: “Given this inaccuracy, we are wondering if other information given about the state of the building may also want to be checked?”
The Bright Start parents also said that the council’s report “provided an inadequate and misleading list of alternative providers”.
The council-run nursery, at the Old Slipper Baths, in Barrack Yard, North Road, Brighton, has places for more 55 children from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday all year round.
In a memo to councillors, the parents said: “Many of the ‘alternatives’ given are not open for the same hours as Bright Start.
“Several of the nurseries listed are only open from 9am to 4pm and more than a quarter of them are term-time only. They cannot reasonably be considered as alternatives for working parents.
“The parents have conducted their own analysis of the list provided and based on the more detailed information that we have gathered, there is very little actual alternative provision for our children.
“Of the nurseries that are within a two-mile radius, at least 15 are more than a mile away or up steep hills and inaccessible with buggies or small walking children.
“Many Bright Start parents don’t drive and would therefore have to add hours to their commute to and from nursery away from the city centre.
“Bright Start is the only remaining significant nursery provision in the city centre. It is also easily accessible by bus and train making it a lifeline for commuting parents.
“Two miles in Brighton is actually a long commute time and we cannot go that far out of town and back in again during morning and evening rush hours to drop our children before getting to work.”
The parents’ memo also said that the nearest comparable premises would cost almost £60 a week more yet a quarter of the Bright Start families were in the poorest 10 per cent of the country’s population.
They said that parents of children with SEND had been turned away by other nurseries, adding: “Numerous ‘early years’ settings have closed, reduced services or drastically increased prices – severely limiting the options for the most vulnerable families.”
And if Bright Start were to be closed, they said that the council could end up having to provide other support for the families affected, in effect, making it a false economy.
One has to hope that these noble campaigning parents are fully aware of the various financial and operational aspects added recently to the Comments under the Jan 6th B&H News article headlined:
“Council nursery facing closure needs £500k repairs”?
Wishing strength to all fighting for an honest and a good long-term outcome!