On Friday 4 November, after 47 years, staff at Kirkgate Pre-School said goodbye to children one final time. A couple of days earlier, we discussed how we would handle this moment. We agreed we would follow the children out and close the door behind us. We would begin the process, not of tidying up at the end of the week but of packing up forever, later in the day when we felt we could face it.
Parents found the closure a shock, but the writing had been on the wall for some time.
Pre-School, which evolved from a playgroup started by two Quaker parents in 1969, was still just five morning sessions with an hour’s lunch club four days a week. Staff were mature, experienced and actively committed to the importance of a caring and positive early years environment.
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