The Council is continuing its covert strategy of reducing fulltime nursery places within its own establishments. It is now implementing its new admissions policy document which has not been consulted on with parents or with nursery staff. Parents are being called into meetings with headteachers, and are being warned that they are to lose their fulltime nursery places.
In essence, the new Admissions Policy has created five “bands” of need – children who do not meet the stringent “need” criteria are to lose their fulltime nursery places.
Tina Woolnough, Chair of Parents in Partnership, says: “This is a hugely regressive step for parents on low incomes who wish to return to work or who need fulltime nursery care for a range of personal and family reasons. Worse still, there is the serious possibility that children with fulltime places will be stigmatised. It will be obvious to all that these children are “needy”. This is unacceptable. It may also be dangerous for very vulnerable children who may be suffering abuse – a fulltime place will be a very public flag of need and vulnerability.”
“We call on the Council to abandon this Draconian policy, particularly as we have yet to discover what the Scottish Government is planning for Early Years provision. The Council’s secret strategy of reducing fulltime places from 1300 last year, to 1000 now, and then to 700 in January 2008 has to be challenged.”
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