Petition launched by angry parents desperate to save West Lothian nursery school

A petition has been launched by angry parents of one of nine West Lothian nurseries under threat of closure.

The future of St Joseph’s Nursery in Whitburn is hanging in the balance after the council announced that a “reduction in the demand for places” in its nurseries could lead to closures.

But the parents of children at St Joseph’s dispute the nursery is under-subscribed and say it would have a detrimental impact on the community if it closed.

Anette Jane Thomson, who launched the petition, said any closure would affect families in the growing Heartlands community those in Whitburn.

She is also hoping parents will attend an education meeting at the Civic Centre in Livingston at 10am on Tuesday to make their voices heard.

She said: “This is a fully subscribed to nursery at capacity, despite how West Lothian council are trying to phrase it on their article. The nursery has space for 30 children term time, and all these spaces are currently full.

“If the nursery closes, we will be forced to find another venue for our children, a course of action which is not practical for a large amount of parents, as local nurseries do not offer term time hours.

“St. Joseph’s nursery is a part of the lower end (infant end) of the school. The nursery kids that go, are often younger siblings of children already attending the school, or children that have come to our nursery due to the excellent reports and care provided by the nursery staff.

“The nursery children share facilities, lunch hall and gym hall with the school at large and are very comfortable going into P1 when that stage comes due to having attended the nursery within the school and building bonds with the primary school children from their first days in nursery.”

Nearly 150 people have already put their name on the petition.

Anette Jane added: “Please sign this petition, so we can take it to the council to show that there is a demand for this nursery and that we want it to stay open.

“There is due to be consultations about closures and with backing of all parents and guardians in the area, past, present and in the future, we can show them that they shouldn’t close our nursery.”

The nurseries under threat are:

Deans North Nursery School

Fauldhouse Nursery Class

Glenvue Nursery School

Ladywell Nursery School

Linlithgow Bridge Nursery Class

St Anthony’s Nursery Class, Armadale

Bathgate West Nursery School (currently an inactive service)

Our Lady’s Nursery Class, Stoneyburn (currently an inactive service)

Council bosses say whilst some areas are experiencing growth in population, the number of children requiring nursery is forecast to fall in most villages and towns in West Lothian.

This is reducing demand for spaces in many council nursery and childcare facilities. Furthermore, the Scottish Government also introduced ‘funding follows the child’ which means that parental choices have changed with many parents now choosing to use their allocated nursery provision at private nursery providers in West Lothian.

This has resulted in an oversupply of early learning and childcare provision in West Lothian council facilities.

Greg Welsh, Head of Education for West Lothian Council, said: “We are looking to deliver a community focussed approach to the provision of Early Learning and Childcare with an emphasis on putting quality over quantity. We have a very large nursery estate as things stand and, even if the changes are taken forward, we will still have more than enough capacity within our remaining facilities to ensure that every child in West Lothian will be able to access 1140 hours of nursery provision at a local nursery establishment, such is the significant over provision of spaces currently.

“There are very good alternatives nurseries in each of the areas and we are looking to adapt to demand and prioritise the quality over the quantity of physical nursery settings.

“If our recommendations are approved, we will be better placed to improve quality at a smaller number of buildings in communities which already have multiple options for parents and young people.

“Our review was based on criteria which analysed both capacity and location. Essentially, it considered key factors such as alternative provisions within communities, the population and demand for spaces at each facility, and also the physical capacity of some of our nurseries.

“The financial position facing all councils is severe which is why it is important that we continually review services and adapt to change taking place around us to ensure our services are delivered effectively and efficiently.”

You can sign the petition here

Don't miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here