Bolton College nurseries under threat of closure

A consultation into the future of the nurseries, which Bolton College says are expensive to run and heavily subsidised, is underway.

The consultation is currently only open to trade unions and not the general public.

In order to achieve savings, Bolton College is proposing to close its nurseries at the Deane and Derby Learning Centre and Westhoughton Community Centre, which together offer nearly 40 childcare places.

The Early Years and Pre-School Centre at the college’s Dean Road Campus, registered to care for 30 children from six weeks to five years old, will remain open.

All three nurseries are rated good by Ofsted.

According to Bolton College, many of its learners who receive support for their childcare costs use other Ofsted registered childminders and nurseries.

Marie Gilluley, principal of Bolton College, said, ‘Like all publicly funded organisations, Bolton College has had its funding from the Government for the coming year significantly reduced.

‘It is our aim to continue to provide the best education and training opportunities for our learners.

‘Having exhausted all other options, we have been forced to review our nursery provision. We have made proposals to achieve savings which regrettably will involve the reduction in the number of nurseries the college runs. Our proposal involves closing the two smaller ones and retaining the Deane Road Nursery which allows us to cater for the majority of our learners who use college nursery provision.’