The Parish Council met yesterday evening (Mon 20th) to discuss the situation with the building that we own, which has been used as a Community Pre-School.

 

The Clerk informed the Councillors that Thakeham Pre-School CIO Trust have given notice to vacate the facility, as they have been required by current EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) legislation to close. This is only due to not being able to find fully qualified managerial staff after a long period of recruitment. Unfortunately, this statistic has become more common in Nurseries and Pre-Schools across the UK at this moment in time.

 

However, the Parish Council would like to say a big thank you for all the hard work that the Trust has given in support of the Pre-School and are saddened by legislative circumstances that have forced the closure.

 

Currently, the Trust still have use of the building as they are cleaning the building and equipment, removing broken items and making repairs before the Parish Council take the building back.

 

The Parish Council appreciate that this may be a sad time for parents and children who have an association with the Community Pre-School and we are pleased to hear that nearly all of the children have managed to find alternative places in the surrounding area. The Parish Council would like to remind our community, that although they may have issues or opinions surrounding the circumstances of the closure - that they should be mindful in how they present these. There is a lot of mis-information flying around our community at the moment which is neither helpful or nice. Remember, Thakeham is a small village where we all reside and some of the people in this situation are our friends and neighbours. Factually inaccurate information can do a lot of damage in such a small setting.

 

The Parish Council have already started discussions with organisations who can step in and look to provide a new Community Pre-School at our facility. We wish to thank the members of the Trust, who whilst going through a difficult time in managing a staffing crisis, managed to open some doors with new providers to look to secure a new future for our youngest members of the Community.

 

The Parish Council are undertaking these discussions at pace and hope to report back within the next couple of months in how well these are going.