Parents with babies and toddlers at a council-run nursery are upset that a proposed move to another venue is a “done deal” without wider community consultation.
Bright Start Nursery, based in the old Slipper Baths building, in Barrack Yard, Brighton, near the Prince Regent Swimming Pool, is expected to move to the Tarner Family Hub in Ivory Place.
The decision was taken by Brighton and Hove City Council’s Children, Families and Schools Committee at a meeting at Hove Town Hall earlier this month.
Parents attended the meeting with their children to protest against the proposals which would lead to the number of places being halved. But Labour councillors voted through the move.
At the time, Green councillor Sue Shanks said that the council should do more to keep low-cost council-run childcare places rather than reducing their number.
Thirty-six parents wrote to the Labour leader of the council Bella Sankey and the co-chairs of the Children, Families and Schools Committee, councillors Lucy Helliwell and Jacob Taylor, spelling out their concerns.
They fear that children under two will not be accommodated at the new venue and are worried about the tight timescale if the move happens next September.
The letter said: “We understand that the council is in a difficult financial position.
“As you know, parents have contacted you directly to express our willingness to work collaboratively with you to secure the future of Bright Start.
“We are therefore hugely disappointed that the council has moved ahead with these plans without any consultation.
“We were also upset and disappointed that these proposals were released only one week before the Children, Families and Schools Committee at which they were discussed, a move which left us with no time to ask questions about them.
“The proposed timescale for the move would require moving at such a pace that there will be no scope for meaningful consultation with parents or staff.
“In their meetings with parents and staff, council officers have presented these proposals as a done deal, raising our concern that our voices are not being listened to and that alternative options have not been properly considered.
“We have also not been given appropriate detail about the plans, how the savings will be achieved, the suitability of the new building and details of the service that will be provided there.
“This leaves us concerned that the proposed changes, which will be hugely disruptive for us and our children, will lead to a worse service and may not achieve the financial savings hoped for by the council.”
On Monday 20 November, parents received a letter from the council asking for feedback on the proposals for
- 47 and a half weeks’ provision a year, with a closure of a week and a half at Christmas, a week at Easter and the last two weeks in August
- an eight-hour day from 9am to 5pm, with two sessions, from 9am to 1pm and 1pm to 5pm
- 16 places a session for children from two to five years old
The letter said that the council was “committed to consulting meaningfully” with parents.
Parents were told: “This process will enable us to understand the exact needs of families and how they can be accommodated in the new model once agreed.
“There will then be a parent consultation meeting with council officers and councillors, to which all parents will be invited. We will confirm a date for this meeting as soon as it is confirmed.”
Bright Start parent Ed Armston-Sheret said that the council’s response to parents’ concerns was confirmation that there would be no community consultation, despite promises otherwise.
His nine-month-old daughter started at the nursery in September and he fears that she will lose her place despite “vague suggestions” that she can stay.
Mr Armston-Sheret said: “If they took us on a journey with it and explained what was going on, we might be more open to considering some of the proposals.
“At the moment, they’re talking (about) moving the nursery, reducing places, scrapping provision for under twos and they haven’t given us any detail as to how it will save them £200,000.”
Parents have contacted councillors for assurances because they said that they did not want to protest again as they had to do earlier this year.
More than 1,500 people signed a petition to save the nursery from closing and to keep its £104,000 subsidy in the budget set in February.
Councillor Taylor, who was elected in May, said: “The council believes strongly in the importance of early years provision and effective early intervention.
“Moving the Bright Start Nursery to the nearby family hub is the best option for keeping it open, given the problems with the current building and the financial position of the council.
“It’s also consistent with council strategy on early years – and there will be benefits for locating the nursery alongside other vital services for children and families.
“While we do need to consider practical, financial and resource implications, no decisions on the final operating model have been made.
“We’re very keen to hear from parents and carers as well as our staff to help us develop the final offer.”
