Save our nurseries: when the kids went to Westminster

Ryan, Daniel, Jacob, Sophia and Zach were probably some of the youngest campaigners at the Houses of Parliament last week. They were there (with their mums) to talk to MPs about keeping their nurseries open. The group of children, parents, UNISON organisers and staff from the nursery began the day at 5am, with a six-hour coach journey from Salford to London. When they arrived they were focused, placards in hand and ready for action Zoe Ireland and her daughter Alice queue up to enter the Houses of Parliament They were there because five council-run nurseries in Salford could be closed down. Two months ago the parents had received a letter saying the council would be consulting on the future of the nurseries, even though all five are rated outstanding by Ofsted. So, why is the council considering closing the nurseries? Along with fees paid by parents, nurseries are funded by councils, using a grant from central government. Up until recently councils have been able to decide how much funding they give to each nursery provider, but the government recently changed the rules to mean that councils no longer have that discretion. The problem is, nurseries that are maintained by local councils tend to cost more to run than private nurseries. There are good reasons for this – they are usually in places with high deprivation, where parents are less likely to be able to afford to pay, and because as public sector organisations the staff have better conditions such as pensions, sick pa...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article early years education nurseries Salford unison in schools Source Type: news