Nursery staff and student parents launch ‘save our crèche’ campaign as university announces proposed closure consultation

Since 1979, the University of Portsmouth has had an onsite nursery for students with subsidised spaces allowing parents to study - but now the establishment is proposing closure due to financial constraints.

However, this is subject to a 30-day consultation process, and a university spokesperson has said: ‘It is important to stress that a final decision has not been made and this is a consultation at this stage.

‘The university nursery runs a substantial annual operating deficit to subsidise 37 places which is unsustainable given that university finances are constrained by frozen tuition fees and rising inflation.’

If the consultation concludes that the nursery will close, the crèche would be forced to shut its doors in December.

Staff at the nursery say this could mean redundancy for 17 team members and almost 40 children left without a nursery space - leaving some parents unable to finish their course.

Supported by UNISON, staff have launched a petition urging the University Executive Board to consider alternatives to closure.

The petition has almost 700 signatures and can be seen here: change.org/p/save-university-of-portsmouth-nursery.

Sian Hitchcock, 40, has worked as a nursery practitioner at the university crèche for 17 years.

The mum-of-two said that staff are feeling ‘very sad, upset, and angry’ about the news and are ‘anxious’ about their jobs.

Sian added: ‘The majority of staff have been here for over 20 years - we are a family.

‘We just feel that their needs are not being thought about - it’s about the children, not profit.

‘Mums and dads are students, trying to do courses. There are doctors and professors at the university - if their children didn’t have a place here then they wouldn’t have been able to go on and do that.

‘The university promotes women in education but childcare is, for most women, the biggest obstacle.’

Also among those dismayed by the closure risk is Leigh Marisa Coghlan, who is due to start a full-time nursing course next month and in preparation secured a nursery place for her 19-month-old daughter at the end of June.

But the 26-year-old mum was told about the closure risk on August 3 - leaving her 'gutted' at the prospect of deferring her course due to a lack of childcare.

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Leigh, who previously worked as a healthcare assistant at Queen Alexandra Hospital, said: 'It was ideal as it was only two stops away on the train and I can't drive due to my epilepsy.

'[Nursery staff] rang me up asking for a deposit of £30 to confirm the place - and a few weeks later and they're like 'oh we might close in December'.

'It's way too late in the day to find a full time place.

'I am gutted - I have worked so hard to get here. Instead of feeling excited about this journey I want to go on, I'm full of dread.’

The university spokesperson said that children and parents affected by the proposed closure would be supported to find alternative childcare.

They added: ‘A decision to close the nursery is not one that the University will take lightly and we understand the impact this will have.’