FESTIVAL OF RESISTANCE IN OCCUPIED NURSERY, SATURDAY 31 AUGUST, 2PM ST JOHN'S NURSERY. DETAILS 07905 460472

Parents and children at St John's nursery in Hackney, east London, have occupied their nursery in protest at the decision of the council and the Learning Trust to close it.

When parents arrived at the nursery on Thursday afternoon to collect their children, they found contractors preparing to board up the windows and security guards on the doors. The children had been marshalled in the garden in an effort to prevent any parent entering the building.

By 5pm around a dozen police had been called and were trying to block parents entering the building.

Management at the Learning Trust (the body which now runs education in Hackney) believed an occupation was about to take place and were determined to forestall it.

They failed. Parents found a way in through an open door and made it impossible to board up the building. A large number of parents and children stayed at the building during the evening and around 15 stayed overnight. The occupation continues today (Friday). ON Saturday they are holding a festival for campaigners across Hackney.

"We want the new Learning Trust to show that it has a genuinely fresh approach by saving this important nursery," said Charlie Kimber whose 2 year old son Eamon attends the nursery. "It is Hackney's oldest established nursery which provides care, play and education for more than 40 children. We need more such facilities, not fewer."

SUPPORTERS WELCOME AT FESTIVAL. THE NURSERY IS OFF LOWER CLAPTON TORAD, NEAR ST JOHN'S CHURCH, WHICH IS NEAR THE POLICE STATION. RING ABOVE NUMBER TO BE "GUIDED IN" IF YOU CAN'T FIND IT.

Background


6 March 2002: council sends letter to parents saying that either St John's or Fernbank nursery will close. They demand that parents come up with alternative savings to rescue the council budget

Parents are not offered any view of alternative plans or advice about what might be required from them. Nursery management can offer no advice as they are not told of what is needed by higher authorities

March-April: Parents visit councillors surgery and early years department and lobby candidates for council elections. Parents are variously told that there ARE alternative plans or that there are not! Election leaflet from Labour lies that nurseries have been saved.

June: Council cabinet reviews two nurseries and decides that sj should close because fernbank has "room to expand" i.e. it is less popular than sj! It will also save more to close sj because more staff will be freed up to take over from agency staff at other nurseries. Council is embarrassed by news that it has lease for sj building until 2005 and this cannot be rescinded.

July: Scrutiny c'ttee looks at cabinet decision to see if there has been enough consultation. It is immediately apparent that there has not. Council reduced to claiming that parents' campaign meetings were council-run consultation meetings! One labour councillor votes against labour line and others show by their questions that they know there has not been proper debate - but they vote to close and the closure goes through.

Mid-July: council refuse workers told Service Team contract is to be terminated because the council recognises that it will end up paying "millions" over the odds. End of contract confirmed in most recent Hackney Today. It is all a replay of ITNet fiasco. Money for failed privatisation, not for vital services.

22 July: parents told nursery would close on 30 august. They are offered alternatives a few days later. Many are unacceptable. Council refuse to relocate staff to ann tayler nursery even though staff want to go and it would make more acceptable places available.

1 august Learning Trust takes over education in Hackney. Says it cannot alter the council's budget decisions.

27 august: under pressure from parents' campaign, learning trust agrees to reallocation of alternative places, giving most parents the "least worst" alternative to st john's

ends