Decision details

The report sets out the background to and results of consultation undertaken between Wednesday 9^th January and Wednesday 20^th February 2013. It recommends that Wiltshire Council should publish statutory proposals to close the Maintained Nursery at St Dunstan C.E. V.C. Primary School.

Cllr Grundy considered the report on the 28^th February 2013 and made a decision to take option 3. He felt that it was in the best interest of the school to close the Nursery and that the declining numbers over the previous years had been an important factor in this decision. Numbers had declined from 44 to 10 in recent years. The officer explained that the preschool on-site could accommodate children from the local area as it was expanding and in addition there are some surplus spaces in other preschool, childminder and nursery provision in the town. Furthermore, the school is not in a position to fund any deficit in the nursery costs and it is not legal for it to do so. The staff in the nursery will be retained within the main school team. 

1.     For the nursery to remain open

2.     For Cabinet to make a decision to go to Statutory Notice

3.     For the Cabinet member for Children’s Services to use his delegated powers to move to Statutory Notice

The consultation document attached at Appendix 1 was sent on 9^th January 2013 to:

• Parents of pupils currently attending the maintained Nursery at the school. 
• Parents of a child enrolled to join the Nursery in September 2013
• Parents of other children in the school
• Teachers and other staff at the school.
• Diocese of Salisbury – Joy Tubbs
• The Local Wiltshire Councillor - Councillor Chuck Berry and Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services Councillor Lionel Grundy OBE
• The Local MP – James Gray.
• The County Secretaries of the relevant trade unions and professional associations.
• Heads and Chairs of Governors of cluster primary schools.

·        Manager and Committee of the voluntary pre – school on site (Sunbeams)

·        Owners or managers of other pre – schools or nurseries within Calne Town

·        Calne Town Council

       Further copies of the consultation document were made available at the school, and it was also published on the Wiltshire Council website for online response. 

       A public meeting was held at the school on Wednesday 23^rd January 2013.

Consultation results

       Minutes of the public meeting are attached at Appendix 2.

In total there were 41 consultation responses received from all the parties consulted. Of these 19 (46%) agreed with the proposed closure of the Nursery and 22 (54 %) disagreed.

Of the 24 responses from parents of children currently at the school, 9 (4.5%) agreed with

the proposed closure and 12 (6%) disagreed. 89% of school families consulted did not

respond.

Of the 6 prospective parents who responded, 1 agreed with the proposed closure and 5

disagreed.

The school considered that these samples are too small to be statistically significant.      

 A summary of the responses (paper and electronic) is attached at Appendix 3.