The long-established 35-place nursery has provided childcare and education for the children of staff, students and the local community on-site at the campus since 1979.
However, in January, the university took the decision not to reopen it to key worker children in the pandemic.
Ten members of staff have been on furlough since then, ‘expecting’ to resume their positions firstly in the Spring, and then in September 2021, they told Nursery World.
Last week, however, staff were ‘incredibly saddened, surprised and angry’ to be formally informed by the University Executive Board of the decision to permanently close the nursery, which cited losses of almost £150,000.
Joint deputy managers Emma Holmes and Sarah Ottewell and Chris Randall, early years teacher, along with the rest of the nursery team, have launched a campaign, with support from Unison and parents, carers and the local community, to overturn the ‘unfair’ decision. A change.org petition, launched on 20 April, has already gained over 220 signatures and a campaign has been launched on Facebook, Save One World Nursery.
A spokesperson from the university said, ‘The decision to close the nursery is no reflection on the outstanding work undertaken by the team. Sadly however, One World has run at a financial loss for several years, and this deficit has grown steadily and has now increased to almost £150,000 in 2019/20 following the pandemic. This means that effectively student fees are subsidising the nursery, whilst only a small number of university staff and students are using it.’
The spokesperson confirmed that staff at the nursery had been informed of the implications of the closure and they are now entering a period of consultation. They also said that they found over a dozen nurseries within a couple of miles offering nursery places at ‘comparable cost’.
One World Nursery was closed following the first national lockdown in March 2020, and although it re-opened in September 2020 for 12 weeks, it has been closed again since January.
Pheonix Nursery, Brighton University’s second campus nursery, closed down in July 2020 and nursery staff at One World Nursery were allegedly told that the university was fully committed to a providing a single service with the full support and backup of university departments and marketing.
Emma Holmes said, ‘This support never happened. Our argument is that we have effectively had 12 weeks under Covid restrictions to prove that we can operate as a single provision, in a more financially viable way. But these are not normal circumstances. We were given the impression that we would re-open at the start of the next academic year in September.
‘The Executive Board states that One World is effectively subsidised by student fees. It could be argued that this is the main source of income for the university as a whole.'
First called Poly Nursery, it was one of the only childcare settings attached to a higher education establishment, in the country. Laws changed and so in 1992 the nursery had to be registered with Ofsted and changed its name at the same time to One World.
Ms Holmes added, ‘We have operated for more than 40 years and we are not only a centre of excellence in Brighton but we are also one of a handful of nursery settings which have received Setting of Sanctuary status, where we are approved to take in refugees. It appears the Executive Board would rather offer its users “cheap” local provision.
‘The “support” that has been offered to us in the coming weeks is a process leading directly to redundancy notices for 11 staff members who have been committed to working positively at the university for a long number of years.'
Campaigners
Erica Evans, doctoral student at the University of Brighton, who was formerly a senior lecturer in early years education at the university, said that the news of the proposed permanent closure of One World Nursery has been ‘devastating’ to the early years community in Brighton.
She added, ‘One World is a centre of early years excellence, often referred to as the "jewel in the crown" of the university. Student parents have benefited from high quality care for their children whilst they engage with their studies. One World has worked closely with the early years team within the School of Education, offering placements to undergraduate and postgraduate students. These invaluable placements have enabled early years students to develop pedagogical expertise, often drawing on experiences at One World to develop practice at settings across the South East.
‘This is the mark of excellent provision - one that looks beyond its own setting and contributes to the development of practice across the local community and beyond. The long standing and highly qualified staff at One World have demonstrated commitment to inclusive practices that promote positive outcomes for all children, in respectful partnership with families. The closure of the nursery will be a huge loss, to the families who love their nursery but also to the wider early years community that looks to One World as a role model for excellent provision.
‘I hope the university will reconsider this decision and stand by its stated value of "partnership" and commitment to making a ‘positive difference to society’. Undoubtedly One World Nursery is one of the finest examples of the positive impact the university community has on the lives of young children and their families.’
Local providers
Local nurseries have rallied behind One World, highlighting its vital role in the community.
In a letter to the vice president of Brighton University, Alex Paterson, a local nursery manager, said, ‘I think it’s important that you know the position that One World Nursery occupies in the Brighton and Hove early years community and beyond. It has an excellent reputation for innovative and high quality practice that rises above any Ofsted report. It is held up as an example of best practice at training events and, pre-pandemic, practitioners were regularly visiting to get ideas to take back to their own settings. Its role as an informal teaching setting in the city is well established and its position unparalleled locally. It has always been surprising to me that the university has not capitalised on the commercial potential of this and made more of it. Closing One World would be seen as an irreplaceable loss by the whole early years sector.
He added, ‘I imagine it is easy to assume that times have changed since One World began. There is more childcare in the city and students and workers will easily be able to find alternatives- that this is not a service you need to provide. I would strongly suggest this is not the case.
'My own setting supports some students and I see how hard it is for them to balance studies, work and childcare. Being able to find quality childcare close to their place of study is often essential. There are very limited options for childcare along the Lewes Road - with all settings being small and in many cases term time only. I would suggest that it will be economically unviable for them to offer the flexibility that students need in the way One World has been supported to. Taking on a qualification whilst raising small children is a courageous and hard road to choose. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, but in my opinion closing One World only makes things harder for these students.’
He concluded, ‘One World is a, much loved, asset to the whole the city and its reach goes well beyond that of the university. I humbly ask that you reconsider your position.’
