Parents 'powerless' over nursery closure

Plans to shut a charity-run nursery have left staff and families feeling "powerless", with more than 3,500 people signing a petition calling on the council to pause the closure and explore alternatives.

Islington Council commissioned Islington Play Association (IPA) to run the north London nursery but on 20 May the council said it had "reluctantly agreed" to close it at the end of the summer term on 22 July at IPA's request.

However, the charity said the decision to shut Paradise Park did not originate with its trustees.

Parent Catrin Shi described the nursery as "a massive community asset for low-income families, for children with special needs and, just in general, a lovely happy place".

She added that it was a place where "everyone is happy" and that her son loved attending.

Paradise Park is a council-operated nursery, meaning there are subsidised options for lower-income and vulnerable families.

"So the people that have the least are the ones that stand to lose the most in this situation," Shi said.

The council said the borough had "sufficient childcare places at other nurseries and schools" to accommodate the affected children.

However, Shi said nearby nurseries were oversubscribed, with many not offering places until September at the earliest.

She added that if she had to go private, it could cost her thousands of pounds.

"It's an absolute nightmare. The thought of trying to manage often a full-time job and looking after your child, it's kind of unimaginable.

"It's going to put a lot of stress and a lot of pressure on the mental health of working parents."

Parent Jonny Singer praised the nursery's staff and atmosphere, adding that families felt "pretty powerless" over the closure of the nursery.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The nursery staff are so caring and wonderful, and the quality of Send (special educational needs and disabilities) care is fantastic here.

"If you uproot these children, that is going to do significant damage. It all just feels so unnecessary."

Twenty-nine staff have been told their jobs are at risk.

Singer added: "Paradise Park isn't just a nursery – it's been part of this community for 20 years.

"The staff have given decades of their lives to it."

He said that he also found a lack of options elsewhere, especially at cost-friendly locations.

"There aren't – not for months, not at a price most of our families can afford, and not for children with additional needs."

On Tuesday evening, families from Paradise Park Nursery staged a protest picnic outside the town hall, at the same time as the council's annual general meeting.

A previous statement from Islington Council said: "We are extremely disappointed at the way that IPA have handled this situation, causing anxiety to parents and carers who will be rightly worried about nursery provision for their child.

"We have repeatedly sought assurances of IPA's plan of action and how it will communicate this to parents, but have not received a satisfactory response."

In a statement on 22 May, IPA said it was grappling with rising costs, including higher energy and repair bills, and "changes in National Insurance contributions [and] the London Living Wage".

The IPA pushed back against the council's accusations of financial mismanagement and said that the decision to close did not come from IPA trustees.

Leader of Islington Council Una O'Halloran said officers had "proactively contacted all 49 families to fully understand the provision they require and find alternatives".

She added: "We have offered to sit down with parents and campaigners next week to discuss potential solutions, and will be in touch with them directly."

Jonathan Broadbery from the National Day Nursery Association, a charity which represents nurseries said: "This is not a surprise. We've surveyed nurseries, over two thirds say they are operating at a loss, or just breaking even.

"That's because most of what a nursery does these days is govt funded hours, and the govt funding rate is not funding their costs, nearly 90% of nurseries say that's the case, so unless govt funding is addressed so it covers the real cost if a nursery place, more nurseries will keep operating at a loss and they can only do that for so long."

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We are delivering a record £9.5bn next year to fund 30 hours of childcare for working parents, saving families £8,000 a year on average.

"More than half a million families are getting this support, and we are creating hundreds of new school-based nurseries in areas with the greatest need to boost access even further.

"We know providers face wider cost pressures, which is why we have increased funding rates above inflation and are backing the workforce with financial incentives and new training routes."

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