"People power prompts rethink"

Southwark's Education Department has been forced to do some proper consultation following our campaign.

A small but important victory, thanks to the parents of Tenda Road, and Bishop's House Nurseries.

This is just the beginning.

Got a letter from The Labour Councillor in charge of children's services:


Several of my councillor colleagues - cc-ed here - forwarded to me the letter you had sent them raising your concerns about the proposals for the phased withdrawal of childcare at South Bermondsey Children's Centre (Tenda Road) due to the reduction in council funding from government.
Thank you for having raised your concerns. I take them very seriously and am interested to hear your views.
Note that the current plans mean that:

• All children who are currently enrolled for childcare at South Bermondsey and Bishop's House Children's Centres, or those who currently have place to start, will not be affected and will have a childcare place until they move on to nursery or school
• There will be no new childcare enrolments for new children at South Bermondsey or Bishop's House Children's Centres from September 2012
• All other services offered at the Children's Centres - such as stay and play sessions, drop-in childminding, parent programmes and other family learning activities, which make up the majority of services and are used by about 700 children overall - are all unaffected. I.e. the rest of Bishop's House and South Bermondsey Children's Centres will operate as normal.
• All of Southwark's Children's Centres will remain open

In light of concerns parents have raised I have decided to put this decision on hold and to consult with parents and the community over the coming weeks about the plans. I am keen to hear parents' views.
Details of the consultation will be published shortly. An initial statement is at: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/article/758/consultation_plans_for_childcare_at_south_bermondsey_and_bishops_house_childrens_centres
I hope this is helpful.
Best wishes
Catherine

Catherine McDonald
Cabinet Member for Children's Services

Once we have translated it into English, we will issue a response. 

I think we have postponed the closure.

Strange noises from the council... I wonder what they are up to?

Rumours are abounding...
What's going on?

Will the nurseries be saved?

2,000 signatures collected

We have collected more than 2,000 signatures to save the nurseries.

New petition - bilingual English/Spanish

The petition signing is reaching a whole new lot of people who care about our nurseries.
Supporters with language skills have offered to translate into other languages.
So many people in Southwark speak so many languages - this will help us reach out to them.

Petition update

Latest count of signatures is:

Thanks to all the parents & children who have worked so hard.

Letter in South London Press

Another letter from Graham Neale in SLP.
How long until Southwark Council agree to reconsider their decision?