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Petition Tag - nursery
1. Keep Field Lane Children's Centre OPEN! 
Recently there has been talks about closing my daughter's local nursery Field Lane Children's Centre, this is not only a nursery but also a Sure Start Centre which provides help and support for everyone in the community.
My daughter Lucy is blind and has been attending Field Lane Children's Centre, and is now leaving to start her new school in September without the help and support of Field Lane Nursery I truly believe she wouldn't be ready.
As far as I am concerned Sure Start Centres are an integral part of the community , and should be kept open being a parent is a tough job and the support that they give helps immensely....
2. Review early closure of nursery - July 2012
The nursery at Poppleton Ousebank School will close 1 week earlier than the school - Friday 13th July. (This is to enable staff to undertake home visits that have historically taken place in September when the child begins at the nursery).
3. Save Early Years Professional Training at UEA
UEA has plans to withdraw from the Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) regional training consortium, and to end its Early Years training programme from February 2013.
This will result in the compulsory redundancy of staff involved, and represents a loss to the children and parents of this region, as the course provides professional training for staff in nurseries across Norfolk. The closest training centre is at UCS in Ipswich, some distance from Norwich.
4. Equality in Business Rates for Pre-School Nurseries
Business Rates are supposed to be a Property Tax, however the evidence that we have collated shows that Rates Assessors have appeared to ignore this, for example Careshare who have a purpose built nursery in Dunfermline, registered for 89 spaces, are paying the equivalent of £811.80 per registered child place compare this to another Careshare nursery which is also purpose built located at Port Hamilton in Edinburgh in the heart of the Capital’s financial district which is registered for 90 spaces, who are only paying the equivalent of £550.00 per registered child place.
The above is exacerbated by the fact that Careshare in Edinburgh charges more per day than the Careshare in Dunfermline, which is understandable, however the affluent area of St Andrews which is the location of the purpose built Wonderyears Nursery registered for 127 spaces, also charges the same per day as Careshare in Edinburgh, but is charged less than half the amount of Business Rates per registered place. The property in St Andrews is particularly relevant as this property is currently up for sale for over a seven figure sum. If Business Rates are a property tax then the above 3 examples clearly show the current system does not work.
It would appear that the Rates Assessor has based their calculations on the rental information provided by the Tenants, however not all Tenants have provided this information and even when they have, the Rates Assessor does not have the manpower to check that the information supplied is correct.
In cases where no rental figure is provided, the assessor has to effectively guess what the rental figure should be, this has lead directly to a dramatic variance in Business Rates. For example the previously mentioned nursery located on the desirable waterfront at East Sands, St Andrews, is not only 80% bigger than the Building Blocks Nursery located in an Industrial Estate in Rosyth, but has a Rateable Value of £8,600.00 lower. In this case either a mistake has been made in the calculations to ascertain the Rateable Valuation of these two properties or incorrect information has been submitted by the businesses to the local rates assessors.
Companies who have invested in new property are being held at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to Business Rates. It appears that the policy of Rates Assessors is that nurseries operating from old converted houses pay 2/3rd and those operating from “portacabin”s pay 1/3rd of the business rates which a purpose built building pays.
This Policy will effectively put an end to the investment and development of new build nurseries, and will result in older stock properties being adapted, which will not always result in the best environment for children, as they will not have disabled or environmentally friendly features etc. Surely as a modern society we should be encouraging the development of high quality sustainable premises to help nurture future generations.
In summary Business Rates is a property tax, however the table below shows that is not the case as we have highlighted in the examples above. Six of the top ten Nurseries on the chart below are located in Dunfermline and the surrounding area, despite the fact that in a recent report from HBOS, Dunfermline along with Kettering in Northamptonshire has suffered the highest fall in property prices in the UK.
5. Keep Qualified Teachers In Our Highland Nurseries
Evidence from research reveals that nurseries with qualified teachers perform better than those who do not (The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project, 2004).
The Scottish National Party promised in 2007 to “deliver access to a fully qualified nursery teacher for every nursery age child” (SNP Manifesto 2007, page 51).
The Highland Council has decided to remove qualified teachers from our nurseries after the summer holidays.
6. Save Westminster Pre-school Learning Alliance Nurseries
Westminster Pre-school Learning Alliance is made up of nine (9) community nurseries and has been receiving a grant to enable affordable nurseries in the area. Westminster Council has cut approximately £45,000 in funding to each nursery by taking away this grant. The nine nurseries affected are: Parkview Lodge Pre-School (Westbourne Area), Moorhouse Pre-School (Westbourne Area), The Vestry (Abbey Rd/Maida Vale Area), St. James Community Pre-School (Bayswater Area), Ashmore Pre-School (Queen’s Park Area), Fisherton Street Pre-School (Church Street Area), Independent Mother's Pre-school, (Church Street Area), Barrow Hill (St. John’s Wood Area), Elgin Pre-School (Harrow Road Area).
Not only have the cuts been made, but additional expenses formerly covered by the grant such as cleaning, accounting, and rent now are each nurseries’ responsibility. These cuts and additional expenses pressure these nurseries to drastically increase fees in order to survive. These nurseries are in jeopardy of closing.
Withdrawal of the nurseries means:
- Extra strain for parents who are already under a lot of pressure balancing finances, work and family;
- Discouragement for parents to access jobs/education due to limited children facilities;
- Loss of jobs and no redundancy packages to dedicated members of staff who have been working for the nurseries for as long as 20 years.
7. Against the Amalgamation of Woodburn and Queen Street Nurseries
Woodburn Day Nursery is situated in Falkirk, approximately 2 miles from the Town Centre. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 5.30pm 52 weeks per year, excluding public holidays and staff developments days.
The nursery is registered for 36 pre-school children and it is part of the Education Service. The nursery provides full and part-time places to children aged 2-5 years. A range of services are available including pre-school and extended day care provision. All staff employed are qualified in childcare and we have weekly input from a pre-school teacher to advise on aspects of the curriculum.
The nursery is situated in its own grounds and has safely enclosed outdoor play areas which have been professionally equipped with a range of fixtures to promote children's physical development.
We are a group of mothers opposing the amalgamation of Woodburn and Queen Street Nursery. We believe that this action will be detrimental to our community, When asked local residents refer to Woodburn as the Hub of the community. This proposal goes against all aspects of social inclusion, with little or no regard to the specific accessibility needs of the familys using the Nursery. This nursery has benefited in some cases, generations of families and wants to continue to do so. There is and will always be a public want and demand for this nursery.
The staff at Woodburn are exemplary and really go that extra mile for all children in their care. This move has been passed but with out the consideration or proper consultation of us as residents in the area. Please show your support in any way you can!!
8. Save Westminster Adult Education Services Amberley College from Closure
Amberley College in a Victorian school building which suits it's purpose perfectly.
* Provides training to gain and increase skills towards new careers.
* Provides Learning Support to all.
* Supports individuals with physical and mental health problems.
* Provides family support.
* Serves the community.
* Provides high quality courses, facilities and resources others do not.
* The very good cafe enables all of the college users to mix and meet.
On June 15, 2010, The Dufferin St.Clair Bears Nursery Co-op received a termination of lease letter stating that we must leave our classroom at Regal Road public school. Our last day would be June 30, 2011. We are petitioning to have that decision repealed.
The Dufferin/St.Clair Bears Nursery Co-op is a community based not-for-profit child care program run by parent volunteers that has operated from a classroom at Regal Road PS for over 20 years. It was started by a group of committed, creative and forward-thinking parents who were dedicated to forming a safe, exciting and innovative environment for their children's early education. Since our inception, we have facilitated hundreds of pre-school children in the transition from home to school in addition to providing child care to JK/SK students via pick up, lunch, afternoon and extended programs.
With three registered ECEs on staff, we service over 50 families each year with a robust wait list for vacant spots. The absence of the Bears Nursery Co-op will leave these families with no options for childcare in a city where childcare spaces are very difficult if not impossible to come by and require years of patience to find.
We as a co-op have been planning for the all day JK and SK program which is now being rolled out across the TDSB. However, Regal road public school is not expected to receive this programming until 2013 at the earliest. What are our JK and SK children to do in the mean time? To cut off an essential service to so many families before alternate solutions can be found is short sighted. We are excited to implement another diverse co-op program which we are confident will continue to meet the needs of the students, parents and community. We are eager to tap into Chris Spence’s vision of the “community school” for the TDSB, (National Post article , May 7, 2010, ‘An Idea Whose Time Has Not Come’) and see our co-op as a perfect fit for that vision. We wish to remain a vital part of the Regal Road Public School Community School Environment.
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple (one of the four Inns of Court) is considering a proposal to use part of its premises, formerly home to a wine bar, as a site for a nursery. This would be available for use by all barristers and staff of the four Inns, and would be paid for by the parents using it. It is unlikely that another suitable site will come up in the foreseeable future.
Middle Temple's Executive Committee have agreed to oppose this idea, on the grounds that they may be able to earn more rental income if the space is used in other ways. The Benchers of the Inn will meet to decide on the proposal on June 22nd 2010.
On 8th June 2010, parents and nursery staff were told by a member of Goldsmiths College’s Senior Management Team that in 3 months’ time, they plan to completely close the college’s nursery. Staff and Students have asked for an enquiry into the handling of the whole matter. Meetings informing staff and students were only announced with 24 hours notice, resulting in inevitably poor attendance at meetings crucial to the livelihood of many staff and students.
The atmosphere in the Nursery is special; educational, creative, friendly and safe. It is very rare to find the kind of care, support and attention to children that you find at Goldsmiths Nursery. It is a central part of College life, and should be respected and nurtured as such. The kind of care offered enables staff to return to work after maternity leave and students to return to their studies as parents, in the full knowledge that their children will be well looked after, nearby and safe.
If College is committed to Equal Opportunities and encouraging the best professional women and men in the workplace, then the issue of childcare provision is highly pertinent. The lack of adequate on-site childcare is a classic barrier to women in terms of career development, but, conversely, the provision of high-quality childcare is a valuable incentive. Taking away the Nursery, especially when there is no comparable local provision (and Ofsted ranks the Goldsmiths Nursery as ‘good’) is a shot in the foot.
The college’s decision to close the Nursery has a history. In 2008, the College presented parents and staff with plans to outsource nursery provision but was a bungle, and arose from some previous, ill-formed plan to relocate the Nursery in a new building. The business plan for this was flawed, but the discrepancy between estimates and quotes for the new build was never investigated and these plans were suddenly jettisoned, without letting staff and users know. Staff protested against this and were reassured by the college’s Senior Management Team that, ’as [they] move forward [they] will be consulting with staff and nursery users and keeping [us] closely informed’. This has not, however, been the case.
The timing of the closure for September leaves staff and students with no childcare provision and some term time only staff with almost immediate dismissal, and although a letter distributed by the College states that they will do ‘what [they] can to support parents with children in the Nursery who will have to make alternative childcare arrangements’, how is this to happen? Surely alternative arrangements should have been put in place before we were abandoned? At the very least, parents and staff should be given another year to make other arrangements. Students who have already started courses will have to take time out from their studies in September and Nursery staff should be given time to consider their options. As all parents know, the waiting list for a good nursery is at least a year.
More recently (2009), a Working Party was set up by the College, to look at the ways in which the Nursery could become cost-neutral and sustainable. However, the college dismissed the Working Party’s suggestions without full or proper investigation or explanation.
12. Save the Greek School of London
The Greek Nursery and Primary School of London was established in 1983. From its current premises, which were bought during the Andrea’s Papandreou government has operated since 1988. It is the only full time Greek school in Britain and currently operates with 62 children.
It provides education from 3.5 years old up to 12 years old. The school programme is based on the Greek Educational Curriculum of 5 periods every day and 2 periods of English based on the British Educational Curriculum.
The Greek Government is proposing to get rid of a number of teachers and merge classes with less than 8 children to one class regardless of which year the pupils attend. The photograph above displays the 1st, 3rd and 5th grade of the school on its premises.
13. Stop University of the West of Scotland Nursery Closure
The closure of nurseries at the University of the West of Scotland may force student parents at Scotland's newest university to drop out of their education if the closure of on-campus nurseries goes ahead.
The University of the West of Scotland is currently reviewing its childcare provision and could decide to shut the nurseries at Hamilton and Paisley. The review follows the creation of the new institution in 2007 when Paisley University merged with Bell College in Hamilton.
About 80 children attend the nursery at Hamilton and up to 20 staff face losing their jobs if the facility is closed.
14. No houses on greenbelt land in Pennington UK
A businessman at Pinetops nursery is aiming to turn his greenbelt land into houses.
I want to stop this development & save the greenbelt & tell the NEW FOREST council that greenbelt land should remain as greenbelt land & NOT FOR HOUSES.
Winkworth Hall, commonly known as Hopscotch nursery, at 215 Chevening Road, London NW6 is a 100 year old 3 storey brick building in keeping with the style of the surrounding buildings.
It is on the edge of the Queens Park conservation area in the London Borough of Brent. The Hopscotch nursery has been there for 24 years and is a much used local service. It provides nursery places and also runs drop-in sessions for children and for babies. It is a charity and not-for-profit organisation. Hopscotch is a valuable local service used by local people, many of whom walk there, and then continue to work and to drop older children at local schools.
The drop-ins provide an opportunity for parents and carers to meet and make friends while their babies and children enjoy a safe and stimulating environment. As well as indoor space there is outdoor space where children can play and an environmental-award winning garden.
Brent council proposes to demolish the existing building, making Hopscotch homeless and to build 27 flats (mainly, two and three bed) with 19 car parking spaces underneath. This would be part of a PFI (Private Finance Initiative) entered into between the council and “Brent Coefficient” to provide 500 new homes on the sites of a number of council-owned buildings (mostly currently providing community facilities).
The benefit of this deal to the council is that it obtains government credits while also providing new homes across the borough. “Brent Coefficient” would finance the development, do the building work and then manage the flats. The proposed building is unattractive, out of keeping both in style and size with the adjoining conservation area and would amount to over-development of the site. The proposed development is poorly conceived as more families would be brought into an area where there is already a serious shortage of nursery and school places and local services are stretched.
Furthermore, traffic and parking problems already occur on that part of Chevening Road, especially at school pick-up and drop-off times and when there are events at the mosque on the other side of the road. The public transport links are excellent, and car clubs are springing up nearby – any development on the site should be car-free and much smaller.
We call on Brent Council to provide a space for Hopscotch in any new development on the site (and temporary accommodation while building was in progress). We do not want to lose this popular and valuable local service in order for the council to make a short-term financial gain.
For more information please visit www.qpara.org.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Elaine Henderson as chairman of the Queens Park Area Residents’ Association
16. Northern Road Nursery Development
Petition against development – Planning Application S/06/2223
We the local residents strongly appose Planning Application S/06/2223
This comprises of the demolition of 1a 9 and 11 Northern Road. Garage lockups, nursery glasshouses and erection of 31 2,3,4 bedroom dwellings and associated works - to include a new access road.
Having seen the above plans and spoken to a planning officer we are writing to express our concerns and strong objections to this proposed development.
We submit the following reasons for this objection:
RISK TO SAFETY FROM INCREASED TRAFFIC
The demolition of the 2 houses and the build of the new road and 31 dwellings will invariably cause a huge amount of noise, disruption and general disturbance to residents and commuters along the length of Northern Road.
There are 2 primary schools on this road. As this will be the main route in and out of the development, the increased traffic flow at peak times causes us great concern. In addition the local amenities will not stretch to an increased population – in particular the schools and car parking.
UTILITIES
We fear that the added burden to the Utilities could in turn be passed onto the residents – increased Council Tax, extra demands on refuse collection, road maintenance, street cleaning and lighting, and sewage costs.
INCREASE IN NOISE, DISTURBANCE & SMELLS
The proposed road would run within feet of, and in parallel to, the full length of the rear gardens of no's 7 & 13.
This would greatly increase noise and environmental pollution levels, be a potential risk to both home and personal security due to the public highway access, and result in a loss of privacy to surrounding houses.
ADVERSE EFFECT ON TREES AND OPEN SPACE
An established tree at the front of the properties would need to be
removed.
EFFECT ON DAYLIGHT AND/OR PRIVACY
The proposed 31 dwellings - comprising of 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms is extremely excessive given the space available, as well as incredibly intrusive to the existing properties - a one metre gap between our rear gardens and the new buildings is just preposterous!
17. Keep Step Ahead Day Nursery Open
June 5, 2006
Closure of nursery.
The Step Ahead Day Nursery has served the needs of the College and local community for many years, with the highest standard of childcare.