FURIOUS parents have questioned Halesowen College’s financial priorities and staff care after being told its popular nursery – which has run for more than 20 years – is in danger of closing.

The college has confirmed it is looking to transfer ownership of the nursery to an external provider, claiming ‘it is no longer able to maintain the nursery in its current form’.

However, parents have criticised the timing of the move, with a deadline of June 6 – less than a month away – set for an external provider to agree terms, or else the nursery will be closed.

Several parents have contacted the News about the issue, fearing not only for their children but also the staff members who had to relay the proposals.

One parent said: “Senior management told the nursery staff, and then expected them to hand the letters out to parents the very next day, effectively announcing their own potential redundancies.

“The nursery has been successfully run for 20 years and is a vital service to many college staff and students, who rely upon it for their own childcare.

“The letter given to parents gave no reason or guidance as to why the decision had been made.

“They alluded to the fact that it was not financially viable to continue with the provision, and have invited any external companies to take over the reins although there doesn't seem to have been a formal process started yet, and so the outlook is not great, given the timeframe.

“The college continues to spend a vast amount of money on facilities, change of use, building refurbishments, new logos, car parks, partnerships with Premiership football clubs and much more - and so money is clearly not that tight.

“This is a very sad, disappointing issue which affects many parents, staff, students and members of the local community.

“Unfortunately, how it has been handled by the college and their management team is equally disappointing and unfair to the hard-working, caring nursery staff.”

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While the nursery was set up primarily to meet the childcare needs of staff and students, it has also proved popular with the general public.

Another parent chose the college’s nursery above all others in the area and said he was devastated at the news the ‘exceptional’ facility might close.

He added: “Not only is it a well-run facility with outside space and equipment in far better condition than others I’ve visited, but it’s location allows several extras which are unmatched.

“The nursery has recently received significant investment to build a large new conservatory and to purchase a large number of new toys.

“This only opened a few months ago and to transfer it from the nursery to the general college raises questions around the appropriateness of spending this money, and where the funding originated from.”

The letter received by parents, from college principal David Williams, said: “The College has concluded that it is no longer to maintain the nursery in its current form and is seeking to transfer ownership to an external provider.

“We would expect a new nursery provider to maintain the similar levels of service, including the use of our existing staff and facilities.

“However, if this is not possible, then regrettably we consider it unlikely that the college will continue to operate a nursery service beyond the end of July.

“We hope to be able to confirm to you by the week commencing June 6 whether the nursery will be transferred to another provider or permanently closed.”

When contacted with parents’ concerns, vice principal Jacquie Carman told the News: “Halesowen College has operated a nursery on the Whittingham campus for a number of years, predominantly for students, but with staff and members of the public also accessing the facility.

“We are keen to maintain this provision on site. However, to develop the provision into the outstanding facility we want for children and their parents, we are seeking to transfer ownership to an external provider.

“We are currently contacting several local nurseries to offer them this opportunity to expand their business on the Halesowen College site. We hope that we can identify an external provider in the coming weeks to avoid the closure of our nursery.”