Campaigners fight closure of Cwmbran nursery (From Free Press Series)

Campaigners fight closure of Cwmbran nursery

3:50pm Friday 22nd February 2013 in News

SCHOOL governors are preparing to fight plans to close a Cwmbran nursery in August.

Statutory notices have been posted to continue with the proposals to shut Two Locks Nursery.

Torfaen council says this will deal with surplus places and the plans include the closure of Kemys Fawr Infants School and Pontymoile Primary School.

But chairwoman of the school governors Susan Tamplin says nursery staff do not want to move.

She said: “If the closure goes ahead the nursery will be relocated into the Integrated Children’s Centre (ICC) adjacent to Nant Celyn Primary School.

“If this happens we will lose the amount of indoor and outdoor space that the children have.”

The site in Two Locks Road has a field and playing area and equipment. Inside, it has three classrooms.

The rooms include a roleplay and craft room, a writing and reading room and a creative room.

Ms Tamplin said that in the ICC they won’t have the range of equipment and they will be reduced to one classroom.

She also has concerns regarding children’s safety, as the ICC is a community centre environment, unlike their current double-gated nursery, which has been refurbished, and had its interior redecorated.

The outside had a safety surface in the playground and a ramp for easy access.

Ms Tamplin said that the governors’ main concern is where children with additional learning needs will be relocated, as theymay not be able to move to the ICC.

She added: “Weoffer a high level of activity which has greatly improved children’s development across literacy, mathematics and the Welsh language.”

The size of the proposed nursery at the ICC will be 52 part-time places but Two Locks Nursery has 106 children, including full-timers.

A petition against the closure has received 563 signatures, along with an online petition with 314 signatures.

Ms Tamplin said: “We have a great reputation with parents travelling across the county to bring their child here.

“We need the community to pull together to show the council that they don’t want the nursery to close.”

The school governors are submitting objection letters to Torfaen council and the Welsh Assembly.

The nursery is also collecting letters and will submit them to the council.