Havant nursery to remain open until end of academic year, confirms principal

Little Faces Nursery, based at Havant and South Downs College, has been put forward for closure after the college announced it was losing money.

A consultation was launched for parents last month, the result of which will be confirmed by November 27.

Should the college decide the close the nursery, originally it would have shut its doors on December 18, leaving parents with less than a month to find a new place for their children.

But following discussions with parents, the college has decided to keep the nursery open until July 2021, regardless of the consultation’s outcome.

The college’s principal and CEO, Mike Gaston, said: ‘Little Faces Nursery has been an important part of life at HSDC and we have taken pride in the service that has been offered over many years to the community we serve, albeit also accepting that this high quality and outstanding nursery provision does, like other aspects of our college business, sit on the periphery of our 16-18 provision.

‘We entered into a true consultation as part of a legal obligation with staff having identified the nursery provision was operating at a deficit. The consultation is to look at options to try and secure provision if possible.

‘I have made the decision this morning that no matter what the outcome is of that consultation, to ensure continuation of provision through to the end of the academic year in July 2021.

‘This I would hope will give some limited comfort.’

Parents have been urging the college to increase nursery fees, in order to make it a profitable venture and thus remain open.

A 10 to 15 per cent increase in fees has been suggested.

Clare Hardwick, who started a petition to keep the nursery open, said: ‘We’re pleased that the nursery is staying open for now because at the moment it's impossible to view other nurseries.

‘But it seems unbelievable that the college didn’t approach parents to gauge their acceptance of a small fee increase in order to stop the current budget deficit.

‘It really wouldn’t take much to make this a viable business venture – it equates to about £5 more per day for each child.’

A spokeswoman for the college said: ‘HSDC continues to be engaged in the consultation process and thanks parents for their involvement and feedback.

‘We can confirm that, as part of genuine consultation, consideration is being given to a number of options including a fee increase for parents. We continue to engage in a meaningful consultation to explore all the options. We have committed to keeping the nursery open to the end of the academic year as a minimum.’

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