Kings College Hospital Day Nursery and South London and Maudsley’s Cedar House Nursery are due to close in February next year.
Parents and carers using the nurseries have launched a petition against the closures as they say that in absence of the ‘vital’ workplace provision, they may have to stop working or look for a job elsewhere. A demonstration against the closures are planned for later this week.
The settings, which collectively provide 120 full-time childcare places, are both based within Mapother House, which is due to close. Run by the local NHS trusts, Kings College Hospital Day Nursery is only open to hospital staff, while Cedar House Nursery is open to both hospital staff and the wider community.
The settings were previously under threat of closure in 2021, however it was decided that closing the nurseries would have a negative impact.
According to NHS South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust, the nurseries are currently running at a loss and are therefore no longer sustainable. They say there are just 45 members of staff with children using them.
However, parents claim that the Trust has stopped new parents from enrolling their children at Cedar House Nursery since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Trust said it had explored alternative options, including private nursery provision and a partnership nursery between South London and Maudsley and King’s College Hospital.
Staff working at the settings have entered a consultation period. The Trusts have said they want to avoid redundancies and will try and redeploy employees. They have also committed to helping parents find alternative childcare provision.
'If the closure happens, I don’t see how I will have any option but to take a career break'.
Dr. Jennifer Breen Senior Clinical Psychologist, parent with a child at SLAM’s Cedar House Day Nursery, said, ‘My two children have thrived in Cedar House Nursery and this has been a vital support in enabling me to remain in a job I love in the NHS (particularly when I was relatively newly qualified). If the closure happens, I don’t see how I will have any option but to take a career break until I can get a nursery place for my two-year-old, and then reduce my NHS hours when I do – as the cost of nearby private nurseries are high.
‘The sudden closure means parents whose three-year-olds start school in September are in a particularly tricky situation – they will be forced to move their children twice in a short period at detriment to their wellbeing, and that’s if they can find childcare. This disruption will be particularly harmful for autistic children and those with different support needs.’
In a joint statement, a spokesperson for King’s College Hospital and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust said they had to take the ‘difficult decision' to permanently close the nurseries used by some members of staff.
‘This is not the outcome that we had hoped we could achieve but we are unable to use Mapother House as a base for the service beyond next year, and despite an exhaustive search, we have sadly not been able to identify a financially sustainable way to continue providing the service going forward.
‘The nursery staff are valued members of our team, and we are committed to supporting them through this transition. Affected nursery staff will be consulted on their options, including possible redeployment within the NHS Trust. The Trust is committed to avoiding compulsory redundancies wherever possible and throughout the consultation process with staff, we will be offering guidance based on individual circumstances and desires', state the Trusts.
Louise O’Hare, of Post Pandemic Childcare coalition, which is building a national campaign against closures of nurseries, commented, ‘These planned closures are part of a pattern of cuts to high quality, workplace and public childcare provision across London, which have seen workers and parents taking action. These closures are happening in the context of a £4.1billion 30 hours free childcare expansion – which looks to benefit few parents, and only serve to prop up a privatised sector with huge issues over staff conditions and accessibility. The ongoing destruction of remaining public early years services cannot continue, and we need the new Government to step up and commit to supporting them.’
