Nursery School closures announced by Press Release

Just after 11am this morning I received a Press Release announcing that 2 Nursery Schools were going to close in the city - you can see the text here.

I've blogged before about how I believe there is a tragic undermining of the status of Nursery Education going on in this city - see here - and can only conclude that this is yet another sad milestone, especially when you reflect on the history of Nursery provision and the role that the old Lothian Regional Council played in pioneering it for the whole of Scotland.

How times have changed :-(

But what's particularly bad about this recent disgrace is that the Lib-Dem/SNP Council approved a budget, way back in February 2010, that took a swinging cut of some £302,000 out of Nursery School provision in Edinburgh. As we made clear at the time, it was a wholly unnecessary funding reduction.

But we've been pressing them ever since to name the 3 Nursery School closures that this £302,000 cut equates to, and for 7-months they've refused to come clean and say what their proposals were.

Now in late September, via a general Press Release, they say they are going to close 2 Nursery Schools with a saving of some £200,000. It is an appalling way to treat parents, families and children and shows no respect for the very serious concerns this will raise for many, many families in the city.

The Lib-Dem/SNP local coalition now urgently need to show some honesty and tell parents how they are going to make the further £102,000 of cuts in Nursery School provision that they have already approved, and not hide-behind any further Press Releases.

Are they going to close another Nursery School or not - yes or no?

Tragically, I do not expect a straight answer.