Residents Unite to Save Great Coates Village Nursery from Closure

Key Highlights :

1. A petition against the "soul-destroying" proposal to close the only nursery in Great Coates has amassed nearly 1,300 signatures in just 48 hours.

2. Great Coates Village Nursery set up the petition on Change.org after North East Lincolnshire Council announced the setting was one of three in the area that could close down for good by the end of August.

3. Last week, parents whose children attend the setting on Station Road, along with Scartho Nursery School and Reynolds Day Care, received letters which stated the establishments were under consultations with plans to close.

4. After the petition was set up, Abi and other parents have been trying to get as many paper signatures as they can from Great Coates residents, in a bid to stop the nursery from closing down.

5. She said: "There's been an amazing response from people in Great Coates, even residents who don't have children. Everyone is saying the nursery needs to stay open because it's the only nursery in Great Coates. You hear so many good things about it."

6. In just two days, the petition has amassed nearly 1,300 signatures, not far from its target of 1,500.

7. Scartho Nursery School on Pinfold Lane could also close (Image: Jon Corken/Grimsby Live)

8. The description of the petition reads: "NE Lincolnshire Council are proposing to close Great Coates Village Nursery from 31st August 2023 after providing decades of outstanding care for children in this area.

9. This closure would have a profound impact on our children and the community in Great Coates and the surrounding areas.

10. There has been no consideration for how long our school has been providing outstanding care for families in the local area.

11. For generations, families have chosen to send their children to Great Coates Village Nursery, due to the outstanding level of care, community spirit and recommendation from past pupils.

12. The children who are at our school currently may have to secure alternative school places, possibly out of area, after already settling in with staff and peers in a setting they love.

13. Please support us in our petition to keep our school open so that we can continue to teach and care for your children, present and in the future. We would like you to sign this petition for North East Lincolnshire Council to:

1. Stop the consultation into the closure of Great Coates Village Nursery immediately,

2. Show an understanding of the importance of Great Coates Village Nursery in the community,

3. Support staff to develop a robust and financially viable business plan, to maintain our high demand for places in the Nursery,

4.Work with staff to identify future government initiatives and support the Nursery to move forward with this."

     Residents of Great Coates have come together to save their beloved village nursery from closure. North East Lincolnshire Council recently announced plans to close the nursery, along with two other settings in the area, by the end of August. The local community has been quick to respond, setting up a petition on Change.org that has already amassed nearly 1,300 signatures in just 48 hours.

     The nursery, which is the only one in the village, has been teaching generations of children for decades and is seen as an ‘essential’ part of the community. Abi Barker, a cleaner at the nursery whose four-year-old daughter attends the setting, told Grimsby Live that receiving the letter of closure was “soul-destroying”.

     “It was awful, it was soul-destroying. That nursery is like a little family, the staff are so amazing, they go above and beyond for those children and it just came out of the blue,” she said.

     In the petition’s description, Abi and other parents are asking North East Lincolnshire Council to stop the consultation into the closure of the nursery immediately, show an understanding of the importance of the nursery in the community, and support staff to develop a robust and financially viable business plan.

     The response from Great Coates residents has been overwhelmingly positive, with many people signing the petition and expressing their views in the comments section. One resident wrote: “This is essential for our village, for the staff that have worked there for years and the children.” Another commented: “I worked many years at this lovely nursery. I can remember the first time the local authority tried to close it many many years ago and staff and parents banded together to prevent it.”

     A spokesperson for North East Lincolnshire Council said: “We’re currently consulting on the future of two nurseries and one of our early years’ day care settings. These settings have struggled to fill places as parents look for childcare settings closer to their workplaces, with the settings running at a much-reduced occupancy.”

     The council has launched a survey to gauge peoples' views on the potential nursery closures and is asking the public, and in particular those parents who will be affected by these proposed closures, to take part in the consultation to have their say.

     Residents of Great Coates are determined to keep their village nursery open and are calling on North East Lincolnshire Council to understand the importance of the setting and the impact it has on the community. As one resident wrote in the petition’s comments section: “This is an excellent village school running for the past 50 years. Outstanding Ofsted reports, a real Community treasure which is very lacking nowadays.”

     Title:

     Residents Unite to Save Great Coates Village Nursery from Closure

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