Southampton YMCA nurseries set to close in February

Parents have been left scrambling to find replacement schools with multiple YMCA sites expected to close on February 28.

These are located in Millbrook, Weston, Townhill and Newton, and will impact 145 youngsters.

It comes after negotiations between providers, Southampton City Council (SCC) and the YMCA fell through.

 while the charity hopes an alternative provider will be found.

Mums, like Kayleigh Thomas, now have to consider staying at home to look after their children instead of going to work. 

Kayleigh Thomas, 34, and her daughter Emily, 4 (Image: Kayleigh Thomas)

The care assistant whose daughter goes to the YMCA Weston Park Pre-school said: “As it stands, it looks like I'm going to be giving up work to look after her until she starts school in September.

The 34-year-old says there aren't any other nurseries that meet her needs because she is working full-time.

“The only person that would be available is my 92-year-old nan, but she's not young enough to look after a four-year-old.”

Kayleigh says she will be having surgery this week which will force her to rely on sick pay.

She said: “We've just moved into a new home as well, so we've just had to pay to redecorate and carpet all of that.”

“I work a forty-hour week. So, you think of the money that I bring in doing a forty-hour week compared to sick pay. It's nothing.”

READ MORE: YMCA Fairthorne seeking new providers to run services

Donna Wright, 40, said her two-year-old daughter, Isabelle, who joined the Weston school this year, will find it hard to adapt to a new nursery.

She said: “So to do this again [and put her] in a place that she doesn't know, to people that she doesn't know, and to other kids, [it’s] going to be very unsettling for her and obviously, it's going to be upsetting for me”.

Kerry Aldworth, 35, said her son was 'in bits' the moment she told him the school he “loved” would close.

Phillipa Spicer, CEO of YMCA Fairthorne Group said the announcement would come as a “shock” to the local community and the charity is “devasted” to be in this position.

She added: “SCC and YMCA are engaging with parents to identify early years places for the children in an alternative local setting, and YMCA is working to retain jobs elsewhere in the charity for the staff impacted.”

Councillor Darren Paffey, the boss for children and learning said: “Since the YMCA informed us of its intention to close, we have been working with a number of partners to put alternative provision in place as quickly as possible.

"However, this is a complex process and unfortunately there has not been enough time for us to ensure a seamless transition to a new provider. 

"We have identified alternative provision for most of the affected children and will continue to work with families in the hope to have permanent arrangements in place for all those affected in the coming months.”

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