A WARRINGTON pre-school and link club could be forced to close following a demand for a “huge rent increase” of 1050 per cent a day.
Nearly 700 people have signed an online petition opposing the rent increases facing the Little Browser pre school and link club based within Cinnamon Brow Primary School.
Campaigners say the The Little Browsers Pre-school has provided “an excellent level of care and education for children aged 2-5 in a loving, caring environment and with an outstanding outdoor play and learn area”.
They say the Browsers Link Club provides a vital out of school care, relied on by many parents to look after their children with the best quality care.
Now they have been informed by Cinnamon Brow Primary School that the rent will be increasing in August from £12 to £126 PER DAY – an increase of 1050%.
Campaigners claim the “extortionate and unfair increase” will leave BOTH Little Browsers and Link Club without the setting they’ve called home for nearly 20 years, leave the children without their school and dedicated, qualified staff without their jobs.
Petition organiser Vicki Leslie said: “Our aim is to call to the primary school and Warrington Borough Council to support Little Browsers and Browsers Link Club in keeping their home at a fair price and to be able to give children the best start in their education.
The little Browser’s Pre-school opened in 1998 and operates within Cinnamon Brow Church of England Primary school at Fearnhead in Warrington.
It is registered to provide care for children aged from two years to under five years.
Vicki added: “Once the rent increase was publicised and we realised the impact this would have to the preschool, the children and staff, the parents were outraged and wanted to do something to show our support and hopefully overturn the decision to increase the rent by such a large amount.
“Little Browsers is such a popular pre-school and a vital part of the local community at the same location for 18 years. If their rent increases by this much, they’d be forced to close.
“The preschool is already full, with a waiting list for September 2016 which is a reflection of the excellent care and education they provide. If it closes, where will the children go? The staff are dedicated to early years education and we don’t want them to lose their jobs either.
“Although rent increases are sometimes inevitable in a difficult climate, an increase exceeding 1000% is very unfair. We hope the governors will reconsider their decision and put the children and their education first.”
One parent said: “This is absolutely absurd, after moving my little boy from one nursery which we weren’t happy with, finding little browsers was a blessing, the staff are amazing and I can’t believe just how far our little boy has come. He loves attending nursery his smile says it all.”
Another said: “I feel this decision is appalling, little browsers is a well respected, self funding organisation that has served many families with young children in the area over many years.”
A spokesperson for Warrington Borough Council said: “A letter was sent to Little Browsers notifying of governors’ intentions to increase the rental charge with effect from 1 August 2016.
“The governors set out the reason for the increase including that they are no longer able to subsidise the provision from the school budget. As this is a voluntary aided school, the Governors are able to make the decision without reference to the local authority.
“The decision to review the arrangements has been under consideration by the governors for some time. The school has very limited flexibility, financially, to be able to continue with the existing arrangements for much longer.
“Officers are planning to meet with governors of the school and representatives of Little Browsers in an attempt to find an acceptable solution for both parties.”
The petition can be signed at
https://www.change.org/p/warrington-borough-council-save-the-little-browsers-pre-school
2 Comments
My children have attended Little Browsers and now are at Cinnamon Brow Primary, yes the pre-school is excellent and although the rent increases sound excessive they are according to reports just being brought in line with market rates and those charged to other providers locally. The fact here is that Little Browsers is a private company / provider and should not under any circumstances be subsidised by the school who need to justify their spending. For every penny spent on subsidising a private business is a penny that is not spent on the pupils of the school who should come first – people seem to be letting emotion and sentiment get ahead of common sense and logic in this case.
There may be some truth in what you say but this in no way justifies the governors taking such draconian action without having the courtesy of discussing the matter with the provider beforehand. The WBC spokesperson stated that “the decision to review the arrangements has been under consideration by the governors for some time” & hence you would have thought that in an organisation that upholds Christian values somebody would have had the decency to alert the provider to make them aware of the situation some weeks ago rather than sending a letter out of the blue imposing an 1050% rent increase. No wonder the local community is shocked!