Parents have urged councillors to pause plans to move a Brighton nursery, claiming that it would be “a closure in all but name”.
And they asked Brighton and Hove City Council to look at relocating the nursery to a different site – the nearby St Bartholomew’s Church of England Primary School.
Work is already under way to move Bright Start Nursery from the old Slipper Baths building in Barrack Yard, near the Prince Regent Swimming Pool, to the Tarner Family Hub, in Ivory Place, from next September.
Ed Armston-Sheret spoke on behalf of fellow Bright Start parents at a meeting of the full council, calling for a one-year delay in the process and a “proper consultation”.
He said that parents felt that their voices were not heard and they were frustrated that the consultation focused on the operating model at the new venue rather than the move itself.
He suggested moving Bright Start to the St Bartholomew’s site because the primary school was threatened with closure because of falling numbers.
Parents are also concerned about plans to reduce the opening hours from 9am to 5pm, scrap provision for under twos and cut numbers by 70 per cent.
Proposals presented to parents in a letter last month included closures at Christmas, Easter and in August, as well as eight-hour days and just 16 places in each of two daily sessions.
At Hove Town Hall on Thursday (14 December), Mr Armston-Sheret said: “There is a national childcare and ‘cost of living crisis’. Parents and carers are already struggling.
“These cuts will make it worse and may force some parents to give up work or reduce their hours.”
Other concerns included the lack of a full “equalities impact assessment”. A quarter of the children at Bright Start have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). More than half have black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) heritage and 67 per cent have English as an additional language.
Labour councillor Jacob Taylor said that, at the consultation meeting, parents had shared “lots of valid concerns” about the move.
Councillor Taylor said: “This administration shares your view that early years provision is vital and not in a good place nationally.
“We are doing everything we can to maintain council provision against a backdrop of brutal government cuts to council funding.”
Councillor Taylor said that a move to the Tarner family hub would keep a council-run nursery in the centre of Brighton for all the children currently at Bright Start who needed it.
He said that there was a £31 million budget gap next year and many other councils in similar positions had stopped providing nurseries because they were a “non-statutory” service.
Labour don’t care about your kids.
The Green council tried to shut it down last year – the Greens don’t care about your kids
This has all come about due to massive council budget cuts instigated by the Tory government – The Conservatives don’t care about your kids
Barry Johnson *doesn’t* care about your kids. He’d rather take any opportunity to attempt to smear. I look forward to Barry providing a positive comment towards improving a situation.
A reasonable proposal to explore is presented here, and the timing is advantageous with the central government announcing more money to be funded to our councils.
It was the Greens who saved Bright Start from closure under the Tories 12 years ago, and while it was under threat again more recently, the Greens still managed to keep it open. Let’s hope Listening Labour listen to the parents, and that they succeed in their bid to move it to St Bart’s. It seems a sensible option, which could solved two problems at once.
I totally agree with you view from the pier, having both at the St Bart’s school would benefit both , St Bart’s is a good school and so is the Bright start group ( room for both ) , so come on labour council let’s use them brains , get them together and the kids can grow up from toddlers right the way up to year 6 .
Two for the price of one !!!!
And if it works, let’s make sure we keep this knowledge as an example, should the challenge arise again. Always plagiarise a good idea!