Brent Labour to close two day care nurseries

Continuing its unique method of caring for young children and supporting working women,  Brent Executive will be voting to close two of its nurseries on Monday February 13th  if it follows the recommendations of its officers' report:

Recommendations

That members agree

2.1 That Willow nursery be restructured to enable further provision for children with a wide range of disabilities, while retaining its character as a mainstream nursery

2.2 That Council- run day care services at Harmony Children’s Centre be closed from 30 March 2012

2.3 That Council-run day care services at Treetops Children’s Centre be closed from 20 July 2012

2.4 That the building used for nursery services at Harmony Children’s Centre be used to facilitate expansion of Mitchell Brook School in the event that a decision is made to expand the school.

2.5 That officers invite proposals from private, voluntary and independent providers for use of the space at Treetops Children’s Centre as a nursery, expected to be independent of and at no cost to the council, any such proposals to be considered on their merit.

2.6 That the decision on whether to proceed with any such proposal in 2.5 above to use the space at Treetops Children’s Centre, be delegated to the Directors of Children & Families and Regeneration & Major Projects, in consultation with the Lead Member for Children & Families

That members note

2.7 That if the space at Harmony Children’s Centre is not used for the purpose identified in 2.4 above that it will be used or disposed of in accordance with the relevant funding requirements and council policies, and

2.8 That, if a decision is taken not to proceed with proposals received under paragraph 2.5 above, the space inside Treetops Children’s Centre no longer used for nursery services, be used to expand the core functions of the Centre.

 It should also be noted that the Budget Report, also to be considered on Monday,  contains a proposal to review Children's Centres.