Closure of Derby Street Day Care will be 'devastating'

Save Derby Street Nursery

A petition has been started to stop the closure of Derby Street Day Care, Heywood. The day care facilities, which are for 0-3 years old children, are part of Derby Street Nursery and will close on 18 July after a 90 day closing notice was served.

The announcement of the closure has caused upset within the local community and with parents of children at the day care centre.

Louise Marcroft, whose daughter attends Derby Street Day Care, said: “It will be devastating if the day care closes. It is a brilliant place. The staff are brilliant as are the facilities and the building and for it to close would be horrible.”

Liz Fitton added: “The staff are very supportive of the children and are fantastic. They will now be losing their jobs, something which they have dedicated the whole of their education to.”

It is understood that the decision to close the facility was made by the headteacher and local governors in February.

The petition was started on Friday 28 March by Eryn Lee, whose daughter attends the day care, after parents were told on Wednesday 26 March that the day care will be closing.

The petition currently has over 400 signatures, with those behind it aiming to get at least 1,000 signatures. Even though the decision to close the day care is not a council based decision, local councillors for Heywood have met with parents regarding the closure.

Councillor Ray Dutton said: “The issue was that there were not enough bums on seats to warrant the cost. The parents are not happy with the closure of the day care and I have spoken to the leader of the council to see if there is anything we can do in regards to the closure.”

Zoe McGuirk, who is helping with the petition, added: “Whether children have attended the nursery or not, the majority of Heywood folk know Derby Street Nursery (formerly known as Millbank) as it has been there for decades.”

Those behind the campaign also held a meeting on Monday 31 March to draw up a list of questions and to gather more information about the proposed closure.

Louise said: “None of us knew anything about this closure. It has come completely out of the blue. As far as we were concerned everything was fine and running smoothly.”

Parents involved with the campaign are now worried about finding new facilities for their children. “I don’t want to have to stress and worry about finding my daughter new day care. I have done that once already and found somewhere that I wanted her to go. I don’t want to move her and remove her from her friends and everything that she knows,” added Louise.

Day care facilities at Derby Street Nursery are privately run by a not-for-profit organisation.

A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said: “The governors of Derby Street decided to close the day care provision from July as it is financially unsustainable. This relates to the day care only and is separate to the Nursery School.

“Parents have been informed at this early stage in order for them to arrange alternative childcare from July. Heywood benefits from a number of high-quality day care providers and we are confident that no child will lose any care because of these changes. Any parents requiring assistance in finding alternative child care placements should contact Family Information Service on 01706 719900.”

No one from the day care was available for the comment at the time of publication.

Campaigners are keen to hear from any parent who wants to use the facility or who have been refused a day care place or turned away from the facilities. They can be contacted at: savederbystreet@gmail.com 

Anyone wishing to sign the petition can do so by visiting:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-derby-street-nursery