Mother criticises council’s handling of allocations

A Fife mother has branded the council’s handling of nursery allocations a “farce” after her daughter missed out on a place, despite being assured of a spot three months ago.

Kate Fleming has spoken out after her daughter Beth Watson was not given a nursery place.

Beth is already at Denend Nursery in Cardenden, having left private nursery to attend the school nursery to ease her transition to school.

Despite raising concerns in February about the number of nursery places available in the village and subsequently receiving a letter of reassurance, Kate was left dismayed.

“The whole thing is a farce. I have emailed the Early Years Team on numerous occasions, lodged an appeal, and as yet the only reply I have had is a generic one for if you are unhappy with your placement – I wish we had one to be unhappy with.

“The school staff have been completely kept in the dark as to the allocations given and have had no input to the process at all and did not even know my daughter is not allocated a place with them as of August.”

Kate revealed her partner Greig Watson’s family – and even Beth’s great-grandparents – have all attended Denend and she is bitterly disappointed her daughter is being deprived of that chance.

“The impact that this system will have on the children affected, those having to change nursery from where they were settled, and those who will not have the transition year into school, is yet to be seen, although I can assure you it will not be pleasant for the children and their families.”

The council’s head of education and children’s services, Shelagh McLean, has said the council has faced “unprecedented challenges” in recent months as the coronavirus outbreak has disrupted plans to introduce 1,140 childcare hours from August.

She said: “It’s important to stress that, despite these challenges, 5,500 children have nursery places to start in August and almost 95% of those children have been given either their first or second choices. Unfortunately, it’s just not possible to give everyone exactly what was asked for, and there is no ideal solution which will be suitable for every family and their needs.”