Campaigners vow to ‘fight until the end’ to save under-threat South Tyneside nurseries
The Save Our Stanley’s campaign has vowed to “fight right until the end” ahead of a decision on under-threat nurseries.
Campaigners calling on South Tyneside Council to reconsider cuts to Stanley’s nurseries have promised to “fight on” for the future of the borough’s children as a decision date looms closer.
Staff at the South Tyneside Accredited Network for Learning in the Early Years (Stanley’s) have been in a consultation over the future of their jobs since mid-June - with the process having closed on Friday, August 21.
South Tyneside Council’s Cabinet is set to meet on September 23, where a decision on the future of the service is expected to be made before being debated by the full council.
On Tuesday morning (September 1), campaigners joined together at the Sandhaven Amphitheatre, on Sea Road, in South Shields to illustrate how many children will be impacted if the nursery service closes through teddy bears and footprints.
‘We need action’
Joanna Taylor, a mum-of-one from Hebburn, launched the initial petition calling for Stanley’s to be saved and has helped spearhead the campaign ever since.
Speaking at the demonstration, Joanna explained that it is frustrating for parents and staff to still be uncertain about the future of Stanley’s.
She said: “This is just another visual for people to really understand that there is little ones behind of all this.
“We would like South Tyneside Council to communicate because we know from our Freedom of Information requests that they hold documentation which would give parents an understanding on what is happening.
“However, they are reluctant to give any information so there is still uncertainty which is leading to staff members looking elsewhere and they aren’t being replaced.
“So now we have children in the area who aren’t able to go to Stanley’s.
“It is very frustrating for the staff, parents, families and the wider community because there could be people out there who want their children to go to these centres.
“We’re still waiting for information and this decision to be made - we need action.”
‘We’re still fighting right until the end’
Joanna also vowed that the campaign group will continue to fight to save the nurseries and revealed that support for Stanley’s remains high.
She added: “South Tyneside Council need to act, be transparent and give the parents, staff and children the security of having a placement for the next few years.
“It has been the six-week holidays so the campaign has been quieter but we’ve still had parents and campaign managers out in the community.
“There is still plenty of support and the numbers are growing - we’ve haven’t done an up-to-date count on the petitions but it is higher than the 12,000 we gave to South Tyneside Council.
“We want everyone to be aware that although we’ve had a little bit of a break with our families because of the school holidays, we’re not going away.
“We’re still here and we’re still fighting right until the end for the children of South Tyneside.”
The hundreds of teddy bears used in Tuesday’s demonstration will be donated to Love, Amelia - a charity that supports families experiencing poverty and hardship across the North East.