Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
‘Sudden’ closure of nurseries shocks parents
COUNCIL SAYS IT CANNOT AFFORD TO SUBSIDISE THREE EARLY YEARS CENTRES
WEST London parents are devastated and fear they won’t be able to afford childcare after suddenly finding out their kids’ nurseries will shut.
Hillingdon families said 108 children will be left without care and more than 50 staff could lose their jobs if the closures in the borough go ahead.
Uxbridge Early Years Centre, Nestles Avenue Early Years Centre and South Ruislip Early Years Centre are due to close on December 31 after Hillingdon Council approved the change in a review of the borough’s childcare services last week.
The nurseries are all for children under five years old.
A report to the council said the three early years centres are operating at a loss – £532,000 in 2021/2022 – despite “several attempts to improve their viability”. It said other early years centres in the borough would be able to take on the provision currently provided by the council.
But parents of kids who go to the nurseries set for closure have said they are shocked at the move and don’t want to distress their kids by making them change nursery.
A petition to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to save the nurseries has already been signed by more than 800 people.
Marta Krakowiak told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she could be forced to stop working if the nursery her three-yearold twins attend, Uxbridge Early Years Centre, shuts down.
The 43-year-old said it costs around £2,000 a month for her son and daughter to go to the nursery at the moment and she could be forced to spend an extra £1,000 a month which she could not afford if she has to send them to privately-run nurseries.
She said: “For me, for both children, it will be like an extra £1,000 a month which I cannot afford – I will just stop working. I cannot do that really, it’s like working all day just to have no money left because you paid everything for the nursery.
“So these nurseries that are run by the council are the most affordable ones so we really rely on that.”
She said parents were shocked
to learn of the closures and fear there are not enough places elsewhere in the borough to accommodate all the kids. She said: “Our nurseries are constantly oversubscribed and we were checking other places, there are no places available in the places we would like so... there are no places for 108 children in the borough, just to ship them from all of those nurseries as well.”
The petition against the closures says parents were told on August 5 that the nurseries will permanently shut down on December 31.
It says: “These nurseries offer safe, affordable and reliable childcare services in the Hillingdon borough. We (parents/care givers) find ourselves in an uncompromising position, as we/our children have built relationships with those that we have entrusted to look after and mould our children over the years.”
It adds: “We simply cannot just find another nursery; the people who work at these nurseries are an extension of our families. Please help us.”
A Hillingdon Council spokesperson said: “Following considerable deliberation we have made the difficult decision to close our three early years centres at the end of December. Despite trying different ways to keep the service sustainable and in the context of declining birth rates, unfortunately the centres continue to be financially inviable, costing council taxpayers more than £532,000 a year in subsidy.
“The council’s provision represents only one per cent of the capacity in Hillingdon and demand can easily be met locally by other providers.
“Financial pressures caused by current rising inflation have forced the council – like all local authorities – to look at where efficiencies can be made. The closures will allow us to fund enhanced and more targeted family services.
“We know this announcement will be an unwelcome surprise to those affected. We will actively support children and families to find and move to an alternative provider as we phase out the service in the next few months. We will also provide support for affected staff.”