Falkirk nursery bosses say planned council cuts could mean closures

At the moment, the council pays for 400 funded early learning and childcare places in 13 local private nurseries across Falkirk but a proposed budget cut could see this drop by 150 places.

In 2020, the Scottish Government’s expansion of early years education gave all three and four-year-olds, along with some eligible two-year-olds, 1140 hours of early years education every year.

The idea was that the “funding would follow the child” and parents would have flexibility to suit their circumstances.

But falling rolls mean nearly all council nurseries now have empty spaces.

The budget proposals – to be heard this Thursday – would mean all places in council settings will be filled and only the shortfall commissioned from the private sector.

Council officers believe the change would save the council around £580,000 in the first year, at a time when the council is facing a budget gap of £28 million for the year ahead.

The council says children who are currently in early years’ education will not be affected and continuity of placements will be honoured with private providers.

But the new admissions policy, which will start in August if councillors agree, has shocked nursery owners, who say it threatens the future viability of their businesses.

They also believe it will have a huge impact on working parents.

While the council has some Early Learning and Childcare Centres (ELCCs), which offer longer hours, most local authority nurseries open from 9 am to 3 pm, term time only.

By contrast, private nurseries are usually open from 7 or 8 am until 6 pm, all year round.

Susan Hill, owner of Wellside Kindergarten, said: “We can scarcely believe that the council could hold us in such contempt and treat us in this way.

“What will this mean for families in Falkirk over the next few years when all the private nurseries have had to close?

“Private nurseries should not be paying the price for the council’s financial situation. I really fear for the future of the nursery, for our children and staff and for the families who will have a huge amount of upheaval if this proposal goes ahead.”

Tracie Nelson, owner of Carousel Nursery in Bainsford, says the change could see her losing around half her places for pre-school children.

Like the other owners, she is worried that it will be difficult to fill future places without the guarantee that children will get funded ELC places once they turn three years old.

Tracie said: “There will be huge knock-on effects.

“The biggest effect will be on parents – they want stability for their child from when they go to nursery until they go to school.”

The nursery owners also say the private sector costs the least in comparison to a local authority nursery to run.

Tracie said: “We deliver 15 per cent of the funded childcare in Falkirk but we only get 7.3 per cent of the budget, so it’s crazy to then attack us.”

Caroline Gormley, who owns Kidzstop Nursery, in Bo’ness, says many of their children attend the nursery from babies and continue going to after-school clubs until they are at high school.

Caroline said: “We are extremely concerned about where Falkirk Council are going to find places for all these children and offer them the flexibility that we do.

“We try really hard to support families and fill in the gaps around childcare – we offer a really flexible service.

“Lots of our families are new to the area – there is a huge amount of building work going on in Bo’ness, so lots of these families have no extended family with them.”

She too has huge concerns about job losses.

“Some of our staff have been with us since we opened and lots have been with us for more than 10 years.

“Many of our staff live in Bo’ness and can walk to work every day. I don’t know what will happen if this goes ahead.”

The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) say it is a “short-sighted proposal which will result in a much reduced, more rigid local offer for early learning and childcare in the years to come”.

CEO Purnima Tanuku CBE said: “These nurseries are unlikely to survive for long if the council persists with this misguided plan which would remove flexibility in the district. It’s unlikely there would be many, if any, available places for under twos if nurseries were forced to close.”

Campaigning organisation Pregnant Then Screwed fear the decision could force more women out of employment.

Their head of policy and campaigns in Scotland, Carole Erskine, called the proposal “extremely disappointing and short-sighted”.

She said: “Childcare is not a luxury – accessible and high quality childcare is needed by parents to allow them to work and provide for their family.

“We would urge councillors to reject this decision and put the interests of families in their area first.”

The private owners believe that families may have to take a place wherever space is available, which could mean parents having to travel to drop children off.

However, Falkirk Council insists that families will have local childcare options in each council ward, and parents won’t have to travel far for a nursery place.

They also say no child who currently receives funded early learning and childcare will need to move.

A spokesperson for Falkirk Council said: “Local modelling of early learning and childcare demand shows that this budget option will not impact parental choice or flexibility.

“There are available places in almost all of the council’s 39 nursery classes and 14 standalone centres.

“There is also the opportunity to further increase capacity in some establishments if required within our existing resources.”