Threatened North Lanarkshire nurseries handed temporary lifeline

New College Lanarkshire is handing a temporary reprieve to two nurseries in Coatbridge and Cumbernauld which were supposed to close at the end of the current term.

Staff were told the college faces significant financial challenges, which resulted in the decision.

However, the nurseries will now remain open until December after an outpouring of concern from the community.

The extension is only a temporary reprieve as bosses will review the situation again at the end of the year.

Nursery staff have started an online petition to keep the venues open permanently.

'Huge shock'

Westfield mother of three Leona Henderson is one of those impacted.

All of her children all went to the Cumbernauld nursery, including four-year-old Amber who currently attends.

She said: “We have just weeks to find another nursery and they have all offered places for next term already, so none can say if they have places available.

“This has come as a huge shock for families and staff alike. A lot of the parents are also students at the college and don’t know if they can continue with their courses.”

Leona had already deferred Amber’s entry to primary school, having received confirmation that she would be able to continue attending the nursery.

'Impossible to sustain'

According to the college, maintaining its nursery provision has cost more than £1m over the past three years.

A spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, the college’s new financial situation means it is impossible to sustain this level of support and, as a result, the Board was left with no realistic option other than closure from the end of the current nursery term.”

Staff were to be offered the options of redeployment within the wider college community or voluntary redundancy.

This decision came after a six-month, wide-ranging review of the nurseries involving staff, trade unions and external advisers.

 The college spokesperson added: “Both centres have offered a superb service for children and parents for many years and the Board is extremely grateful for the invaluable contributions staff have made towards the education and care of young people in our region.  

“However, the new financial reality resulting from the college’s real term funding allocation cut has made it impossible to continue to run the nurseries when our primary responsibility must be to achieve positive outcomes for our students.”

Positive steps forward

Acting on behalf of concerned constituents, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth MSP Jamie Hepburn is engaging in ongoing talks to keep the nurseries opened permanently.

Mr Hepburn said:  “New College Lanarkshire’s decision to close their Cumbernauld nursery comes as a huge surprise to myself and to all the parents and guardians whose children will be affected. 

“There is a strong feeling that this came too quickly and with no notice and many are worried about how this may affect children who are well-settled in their current place.

"There does seem to have been some positive moment, the college has now contacted me to say they will be retaining their nurseries until at least the end of the year.

"Over that period they're looking to see how they can be sustained in the longer term.

"It's still obviously a concerning point in time, so I'll be speaking to the principal to better understand what the causes are here, and see if we can work together to secure the long term future of both these nurseries."

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