Students forced to drop out of college courses after nursery closure
Parents at New College Lanarkshire were told on Wednesday the nursery would be closing in December
Parents and staff at New College Lanarkshire nursery say they were “ambushed” by a decision to close the facility.
The nursery, which usually cares for around 40 children, will be shut down in December, after ongoing funding issues from the college.
In May, closure was considered and then delayed for a possible deal with Amcol, the charity which already runs the college’s Motherwell campus nursery.
However, this has since collapsed, and both Cumbernauld and Coatbridge nurseries will close at the end of the year.
The closure means that some parents who study at the college will have to consider dropping out of their courses until they can find alternative care for their children.
For mum Shannon Murphy, that decision has already had to be made.
She said: “My son was in the nursery, but as of the nursery closures, I have had to leave my course, because I can’t continue with my course knowing that my son’s not going to have anywhere to go.”
She added: “We’ve been given options that they might have somewhere else to go, it’s not as easy as that.
“I don’t want my son just to go anywhere, I felt secure at the nursery and it’s really impacted my life, it’s unbelievable.
“They talk about they want people to return to education, they’re all about the early years, how important it is, well show us that then.
“Show us how important it is because you’re not doing that by closing this nursery and impacting all these children.”
Despite knowing the deal with Amcol would not go ahead from August, parents were only informed that the nursery would be closing on Wednesday morning when they came to drop off their children.
Staff from the nursery said in a statement: “We would like to thank everyone who has taken the time and effort to support us in trying to keep our nursery open.
“We all have the same goal which is to continue to provide good quality childcare for the children in our community.”
They added: “We are more than just a nursery, we are a family with a support system for children, parents and staff which goes beyond anything that is on offer elsewhere.”
A spokesperson for the college said: “We are actively engaged in exploring all options to allow the nursery to continue operations.
“In May we postponed the closure of the nursery until December 31 to allow us to pursue every avenue that could lead to a sustainable future for it and we will continue to actively consider all possible options.”