Another campus nursery faces the axe

Last week, parents protested about the Sutton Campus nursery being due to shut in September.

Faced with budget cuts, the college has announced plans to axe 100 jobs and said it would be focusing on teaching and learning.

Kim Vaughan, director of student services at Birmingham Metropolitan College, said, 'To minimise the impact of the cuts, we will be closing the creche at the Sutton Coldfield Campus at the end of this academic year. We will work with local nurseries and creches to help our learners find childcare facilities close to their homes. Our decision is in line with other colleges who have also cut their nursery provision.'

Meanwhile, Unison general secretary Dave Prentis, speaking at a conference on further education in Edinburgh last week, launched a five-point pledge for all parties to sign up to in the run-up to the election. It calls for a stop to the cuts and a cap on college principals' pay, which in the last eight years has risen by over 40 per cent, to as much as £184,000.

Mr Prentis said, 'We need to help the victims of the recession re-skill and re-train, to help get them back into work.

'Further education staff are among those working long hours for low pay. Hundreds of jobs are being cut at colleges across the UK, including Manchester, St Helens, Birmingham Metropolitan, Richmond upon Thames and Barnet college. We also have colleges, like Glasgow Nautical, closing down their campus nursery,' he said.