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PARENTS have been left shocked and outraged to discover their children's nursery is to be closed down in less than two months.

Wiltshire College, Salisbury, dropped the bombshell that Littlelegs is to close through letters sent to all users on Thursday - leaving distraught parents just a few weeks to find alternative childcare.

Andrea Millman, 41, from Ford, relies heavily on the facilities as she sends her two children to the nursery several times a week to allow her to go to work.

"I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do now," she said. "I can't express how annoyed and upset I am. It is so difficult to find people to look after your children that you trust and where you know they are going to be safe."

The nursery, which has been open for 16 years, employs nine members of staff to care for the 30-plus children on their books.

The letter stated several reasons for the closure, including a decline in the usage, the number of students using it and the revenue from the facilities not covering the costs.

It also said the buildings are reaching the end of their useful lives' and were difficult and expensive to maintain and that the college needs to prioritise their limited funds for improvements to classroom teaching and learning for their many students.

Helen Corson, 31, from Salisbury, has sent her two-year-old daughter, Phoebe, to the nursery for over a year. "I got in on Friday and just cried," she said. "My daughter loves going there - every time she turns the corner she knows where she's going and her face just lights up. It's too late to do anything. They have made this final decision without discussion with the people who really matter."

Staff at the nursery said they were very upset and disappointed about the closure of the facilities.

"It's a real shame," they said. "We had good plans for the nursery as there was going to be lots of changes in early years and we were keen to take them on and make sure we could continue to improve the care given."

A statement from Wiltshire College said the reluctant decision had been made to withdraw the support service because of the changing business context in which it has to operate.

It also said the college regretted the disruption this will cause to the children, parents and staff concerned.

Di Dale, college principal, said: "Littlelegs has enjoyed an excellent reputation and this was reflected in the last Ofsted inspection and through customer feedback.

"We have been very fortunate to have such a dedicated team of staff for many years and are very saddened to see them go."

1:41pm Thursday 15th May 2008

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