Letters
Sad loss to community
I HAVE two children who attend Windmill Neighbourhood Nursery. I am furious at Dudley Council's claims that it has supported the nursery financially as the take-up of places has been too low (Dudley News, February 28).
In my opinion, the council has orchestrated the situation in an attempt to justify its closure.
We have been continually asking to upgrade my children's part-time placements to full-time since last summer but were told they simply didn't have the staff to cater for the number of places which the nursery is advertised as being able to provide care for.
This, I know, is due to the fact that two members of staff (one who left on promotion and the other being on maternity leave) were not replaced by the council and this had an adverse effect on the nursery's ability to provide childcare.
Also, there were a number of occasions leading up to Christmas when the nursery was closed because of a lack of staff. Since December, again it has been closed on various afternoons for this same reason.
This is in no way criticism of the staff who have poured their hearts and souls into the nursery and the children they care for.
We consider the staff an extension of our family and they have always provided the very highest care and respect for the children and parents.
The nursery has been such an asset to the community. I am at the very least disappointed at the way the council has acted.
There was no consultation with either staff or parents about the closure or problems it claims the nursery was suffering.
In my opinion, this is because the closure is a deliberate act on the council's part and it has targeted a vulnerable area - children, because they are an easy target. The council should be ashamed of itself.
I have found the sudden process of trying to find alternative childcare arrangements an almost impossible task - with other nurseries in the area being oversubscribed.
How can the council say there is no demand when we are all finding this task so difficult?
I have also had the added difficulty of applying for school placements at primary schools this year and again this is difficult given the recent closure of primary schools in Dudley.
The Government claims its focus is on the needs of the citizens and our children should be at the heart of this with the "Every Child Matters" framework.
Perhaps the Government should re-word this as "Every Child Matters Unless Your Child is Educated or Cared For in Dudley".
Thank you Dudley News for highlighting our plight - at least you have listened.
Mrs Leslee Parsons, via email
4:52pm Wednesday 5th March 2008
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
