Aberdeenshire Council plans to ‘mothball’ Glass Nursery lead 400 objectors to sign petition
An online petition protesting against a council’s decision to ‘mothball’ a rural nursery school has already attracted more than 400 signatures.
Parents and others living near Glass Nursery were devastated after Aberdeenshire Council abruptly announced the measure just a day before the youngsters broke up for Easter.
The families affected, in addition to many others living nearby, fear this “short-sighted” decision will rip the heart out of their community and inevitably threaten the future of the village primary school as well.
Glass Nursery, which currently looks after five children, is now scheduled to close for at least two years from the end of the summer term on July 5.
Catriona Skene is a working mum with two sons, the youngest of which is still a pupil at the nursery.
The charity co-ordinator said: “We’re all really worried. The nursery is exceptional, but this fight is about more than just that. It’s about the future of the place where we live.
“Rural Aberdeenshire already has a problem with depopulation. Once you start closing schools it’s only going to make the situation worse.”
Catriona estimates the council’s decision to close the school for two years could cost her family, as well as others, as much as £5000 due to petrol, child care fees and other costs.
She said: “The nearest nursery is in Huntly. That would be a 15-mile round trip twice a day and it’s currently overscribed anyway, so it would mean driving to Drumblade or Rhynie which are even further away.”
There is also anger at the council’s consultation, or lack of it, before the decision was announced. This, the parents believe, is a breach of the council’s statutory duties.
In addition to starting the online petition, the parents as well as others in the community have written individual letters to the council.
Each have outlined their personal views about why the nursery must be allowed to remain open.
Glass is one of four rural nurseries, along with Ballogie, Crossroads and Sandhaven, that have been earmarked for closure in the coming months.
Aberdeenshire Council states that each of the four are ‘under capacity’, with less than half the number of children required to keep them open.
A spokesperson said: “While parental choice is a driver, it is important that any delivery model secures both best value for the council and longer-term sustainability for Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings in Aberdeenshire.
“Any ELC setting that is mothballed/deactivated is removed from the admissions process, but monitoring and analysis of local data ensures we know whether there is a requirement to reactivate an ELC setting at any time.
“This includes NHS data - identifying children aged five years or younger, living in Aberdeenshire and registered with a GP surgery, to project potential demand - and the admissions data, identifying actual demand for provision in local areas.
“Using this information helps us to ensure there is a balance between meeting the needs of families, while remaining efficient and sustainable.
“In addition to being data-led, there is a rolling programme of stakeholder surveys which gather information and intelligence of local need and priorities.”
The online petition protesting against the mothballing of Glass Nursery can be found on the change.org website.
