Nursery jobs set to be lost as falling numbers hit finances

The management committee of Cherry Tree Nursery in York announced yesterday that it is planning to shut the facility later this year as it is no longer financially viable.

The nursery is the only one in York to be staffed by council employees which is run on a commercial basis, offering day care for children aged up to four.

But it has been running at a loss for some time, and York Council stepped in last year to provide an undisclosed amount of funding to ensure the nursery could continue to operate.

A total of 82 children are currently attending the nursery, which was established eight years ago at Hob Moor Primary School.

A council spokeswoman stressed the authority had taken the decision not to provide further funding as it was not willing to “subsidise indefinitely” a nursery that is being run on a commercial basis.

However, it is understood that the decision was not due to the funding cutbacks that the council is having to enforce.

York Council’s cabinet member designate for children and young people’s services, Coun Ruth Potter, said: “The governing board has come to a very difficult decision. The funding comes from the parents of the children who attend the nursery. If the children are not going to the nursery, then the funding is simply not there.”

Coun Potter admitted that numbers of children had fallen, and new policies which allow youngsters to attend school from the age of four instead of five from September will exasperate the situation further.

A total of 13 staff are due to be affected by the proposed closure. The nursery’s management committee has guaranteed to keep the nursery open until August 31, and agency staff will be drafted in to replace anyone who leaves before that date.

A management committee spokesman said: “We very much regret the impact it will have on the staff, and it is no reflection on their loyal service over many years.

“We also regret the inconvenience and anxiety that this decision may cause for parents who use the nursery.”

[email protected]