Protesters call on council to scrap plans to close 14 nurseries
COUNCIL education bosses have been called on to scrap plans to close 14 nursery schools in the city.
Staff, union representatives and parents staged a protest in Victoria Square ahead of the city council’s monthly meeting.
Petitions, one with more than 1,500 names, were also handed in and questions asked.
Gill Ogilvie, GMB Union Organiser, said: “GMB have been devastated since the council unveiled their outrageous plan last year.
“We believe that these proposals will cost in excess of £2.5 million in redundancy payments and potential clawback on buildings – not mentioning the cost to chil- dren’s and families’ lives. All we ask is the council properly examine our sustainability plan before consigning Birmingham’s nurseries to the scrap heap.”
Ms Shaneela Zaheer called for parents to be handed full financial details for the nurseries so they can put forward alternative business plans.”
Labour Council cabinet member for education Carl Rice responded that finance would be made available and said that all proposals would be considered before a final decision is taken.
He said that the 14 council-run day care nurseries operate at a combined cost of up to £750,000 per year and that there are 350 private or volunteer run nurseries in Birmingham which run at no cost to the taxpayer.
Councillor Rice said: “We don’t want to close our council-run nurseries but unfortunately we simply can’t afford to maintain the subsidy in the current financial climate.
“We will explore all options to allow these day care centres to continue to operate in a sustainable way in one form or another.
“I totally understand parents’ concerns but this consultation is a chance for nursery leaders, parents and local representatives to help us find local solutions to ensure they are financially sustainable going forward.”