Anger as pre-school is shut without warning (From Bournemouth Echo)

Anger as pre-school is shut without warning

6:03pm Friday 6th November 2009 in

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PARENTS are fuming after a Poole pre-school was closed without warning today.

The Merley Youth Club, Chichester Walk, shut at the end of the day after an engineer’s report showed it to be structurally unsound – leaving Down in the Woods Pre-school homeless, as well as the youth group which meets at the club three times a week.

Parents of 50 children had just hours’ notice of an emergency meeting – and many were left shocked and in tears by the news.

Nicola Fipp, who has had four children at the pre-school, said parents were “up in arms” and had been offered no alternative childcare.

“A lot of people work and have nowhere to send their children on Monday,” she added.

Stacey Annis, whose son Robbie attends the pre-school, said: “To hear this at 4.15 on a Friday doesn’t give me any time to find an alternative or prepare my son.”

Nicola McClure added: “We feel very, very let down.”

The last-minute closure came after a structural engineer’s report, which advised the structural stability of the building “cannot be assured” especially in bad weather, such as winds in excess of 45mph or heavy snowfall.

It has been condemned as “scandalous” by Mid Dorset and North Poole MP Annette Brooke.

She said: “My daughter started school in those cabins 34 years ago – how long are they meant to last?

“I condemn Poole council for having to take crisis action like this when clearly the situation should have been addressed a long time ago.”

Anne Newton, strategic director for children’s services, said the Borough of Poole regretted the short notice closure but “the safety of the children and adults who use the building clearly must come first”.

She added: “Our priority now is to help the groups who have been using the building to find alternative accommodation while the facility remains closed.”

The Family Information Service is offering support for families looking for alternative childcare needs on 01202 261999.

Childcare information can also be accessed from http://childcarefinder.direct.gov.uk/childcarefinder