BY AMY SCHUBERT-LEE
I am one of the many parents who are devastated that our much-loved nursery school, rated outstanding in every respect in its last Ofsted inspection, has been unable to find an alternative venue after the Salvation Army has asked for its space back.
My son came bounding out of nursery this week, as he always does, so happy, and so excited to tell me all about everything that he had done – how he’d played with a new friend, made a telescope and been on a number hunt outdoors. He was so happy, while I just wanted to stand there and cry. Cry because I know this is going to come to an end, not just for my child, but for all of the other children who will never get to experience this.
A spokesperson for The Salvation Army said: “The Nursery School has rented space in our hall at The Salvation Army in Addlestone for over 20 years. “During that time, The Salvation Army’s community work in Addlestone has expanded significantly as poverty and need in the area has sadly increased. We spoke with The Nursery School in December 2019 to explain the situation and to let them know that we would like to use our hall after the end of the summer term July 2020. At this time, The Nursery School asked if they could stay on until the end of the summer term in 2021 as this fitted with their operational requirements, which we agreed to as we were keen to give them time to find alternative accommodation.” Having being given this extra time, The Nursery School spent months looking for alternative premises, but sadly they’ve been unable to find any suitable alternative premises to date.
The Nursery School on Church Road opened in 1995 and has been under its current ownership for 10 years.
An Ofsted inspector in 2019 said: “Children thrive in the stimulating and well-resourced nursery” and are “visibly happy”, and described the manager as “an inspiring practitioner and a strong role model to her team”.
We are thrilled that Dr Ben Spencer MP has got involved with this issue, and visited the nursery last week.
The Parents of the children at The Nursery School have set up a petition to bring more awareness to this problem and would be grateful if you would please download the link below and add your name.
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-nursery-school?