City's nurseries 'under threat of closure'

Natasha Kirby, who has been looking into allegations that state-run nurseries are under threat, said the council will announce the proposed closures by the end of June. Her daughter attends Grassmarket Nursery School, which offers specialist services.

Ms Kirby said, 'A source has told me that all 18 nurseries will be targeted and the council wants to create integrated early years centres instead.'

She also claimed that empty jobs at council-run nurseries have been frozen.

A council spokesperson denied that a 'hit list' of nurseries existed and said there was no date set for the council's final decision on any education closures.

Marilyne MacLaren, convener for Education, Children and Families, said, 'We are currently reviewing the Children and Families Estate with a view to rationalisation and a report will go to the council in due course.'

Measures implemented after this year's budget to save the children and families department 700,000 included staff redeployments and enforced cuts in full-time places.

Colin Mackay, Edinburgh secretary of teaching union Education in Scotland, said, 'Nurseries were approached to drop full-time places and thrown into disarray. They felt that losing their full-time places made them less viable financially - if parents voted with their feet and went elsewhere because there weren't full-time places, they would then be vulnerable to being closed down.'

Judith Gillespie, development manager at the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said, 'There has been a big population reduction of children in Edinburgh, so I think some rationalisation is inevitable as a response to falling demand. There will be an amalgamation of primary schools and I have to assume the same will happen to nurseries.'