Many of the nurseries have been set up over the past 25 years and offer specialist provision and affordable childcare to low-income families, but have seen local authority funding go elsewhere.
Community nurseries claim Sheffield City Council is forcing them out by building new Sure Start centres near existing community provision and by passing over their applications for funding, such as sustainability grants.
They have started a petition which they will present at a full council meeting next week.
Pat Broadhead, Professor of Playful Learning at Leeds Metropolitan University and spokesperson for the Sheffield Community Childcare Forum, said, 'The community nurseries in Sheffield have come together to share experiences and exchange information, recognising there is strength in numbers. This revealed to them what they saw as inequitable treatment in funding distribution. They were told at a meeting I attended that they would not be put at risk. They are now at risk of closure as funding decreases or disappears for them.'
She said they are considering a judicial review 'to bring these inequities out in the open, as they see this as a last hope for survival.'
Chrissy Meleady of Sheffield Community Childcare Users Group accused the local authority of acting 'in a manner of controlling, dominating and abusing the market', rather than working in co-operation with long-established and successful community early years provision.
She said the council had set up 'competitive provisions, sometimes in very close proximity to existing provisions, putting their sustainability at risk, fuelling their displacement and demise.'
Julie Ward, the council's strategic manager for early years, said children's centres in Sheffield were not put out for tender but assessed against criteria. Neighbourhood Nurseries, Early Excellence Centres and Sure Start provision and school sites were all considered.
She said seven community nurseries were the 'key childcare delivery partners' for children's centres on school sites. They include Tiddlywinks at Arbourthorne Children's Centre, Darnell Community Nursery at Darnell Children's Centre and Tinsley Community Nursery at Tinsley Green Children's Centre.
These are all nurseries that the Forum says are under threat.
Ms Ward said, 'To ensure that a consistent and equitable process is available across the childcare sector, all community nurseries have the opportunity to access Sustainability Grant funding.'
She added that the council aimed to support all community nurseries in a consistent and equitable way and met with the Community Childcare Forum to discuss their needs. 'We recognise that community nurseries extend their activities into other community related work, and we support this and encourage providers to seek out other funding streams. One of our key priorities is ensuring sufficient childcare to meet the flexible needs of families.'
