Staff members and parents at a playgroup in the Vale of Glamorgan have been left “extremely shocked and heartbroken” after council cut their funding. Swallow Playgroup in St Athan fear that they will lose half of the children that attend the playgroup as well as some members of staff.
Over the past 15 years Swallow has received educational funding from the Vale of Glamorgan Council. This means that parents have been able to use their full 30 hours free childcare hours from the age of three at the nursery – which offers wraparound childcare from 9am to 4pm.
The 30 hours that parents can use once their child turns three is split into two categories. At least 10 of these hours has to be used on education with the remainder on childcare. However, it is up to a local authority to decide what establishments or schools get the education funding.
READ MORE: People running schools in Wales are desperately worried
READ MORE: Bridgend factory to close and 100 employees told they could lose their jobs
Swallow Playgroup in St Athan once qualified as an education setting, but has now had this funding removed from the council. This service offers fewer transitions for the children as well as being easier for working parents/guardians, but now it is at risk. Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news
Swallow Playgroup provides early years education for primarily service families as well as newly housed Afghanistan families and also assists children with additional learning needs. The playgroup feel that their aim of providing early years education to more families in the area can not be met due to the cuts.
Andrea Glenton has been the deputy manager of the playgroup for the past 21 years, she said: “Together with the expected developments in our area, bringing more families, creating more demand for a service such as ours, but with the withdrawal of our funding this is something we cannot provide, unless parents choose to still come to us and pay themselves. With funding withdrawn, we feel this does not provide us with the ability to fulfil our aim.”
The playgroup was informed via email on Friday, March 15 that the provision of education hours would cease from Saturday, August 31, which is the cut-off date for nursery applications within the Vale of Glamorgan. They claim that the council had not been in contact with them to consult the decision beforehand and have not had the offer to discuss the situation since.
Andrea said: “To date we have had no consultation and no offer to discuss the situation. Just a complete cut off without justification, explanation or understanding of the consequences for children and their families.”
The decision to cut the education hours funding for Swallow Playgroup was made as the council faces financial challenges. Cllr Rhiannon Birch, Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet member for education, arts and the Welsh language, said: “Unfortunately, the Council is no longer able to fund early years education provision at Swallow Playgroup in St Athan.
“Throughout the recent budget-setting process, we stressed that difficult and unpalatable decisions would need to be made in the face of decreasing funding and significantly rising costs. Budget decisions were made following extensive public consultation, consideration by scrutiny committees and engagement with other stakeholders, including trade unions.
“The Council faced an unprecedented financial challenge to balance the budget for 2024/25 after a ‘real terms’ cut in funding caused in part by soaring energy prices, inflation and interest rates. There is also a growing demand for critical Council services from an ageing population and rising number of children with Additional Learning Needs. From the outset, we made protecting provision for these and other vulnerable groups a priority.”
READ MORE: Vale councillors fear plans to reduce community councils will ‘dilute’ local voices
READ MORE: Plans to demolish and rebuild school near Barry approved despite flooding concerns
Parents that use the playgroup have also expressed their devastation at the council’s decision. Many parents have contacted the council to express their opposition to the funding cuts, one wrote: “My husband and I are very sad to see you are not offering funded educational hours to Swallow Playgroup. Swallow made an amazing difference to our children, and we could not have asked for a better setting our better staff to prepare them for primary school.”
As the playgroup cares for many children who’s parent(s) serve in the armed forces, they feel particularly prejudiced against, according to Andrea. She said: “Our service personnel families feel particularly prejudiced against with the withdrawal of funding . The pressure on the spouse of service personnel to be able to find childcare and work opportunities is different to a more static population.
“Often these families are distanced from their support networks and cannot rely on grandparents or other family members to help with childcare, or with drop off or pick up as other parents, so they rely on our wraparound care, which without funding, we will not be able to provide, without the extra cost to families to pay for their child’s space.” For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter
Cllr Rhiannon Birch told WalesOnline: “In addition to the financial factors mentioned, this decision was also influenced by the fact there is currently surplus capacity for nursery provision in the local area and after considering future demand, which can be met within our own schools. Parents have not been disadvantaged by the timing of this decision. They can apply for a place at an alternative location near their homes in the same way as anyone else and will be fully supported by our Admissions Team to do so.”
The funding cuts will mean that the playgroup will lose around half of the children expected to attend from September as well as the possibility of staff redundancies. Swallow Playgroup have started a petition to save the playgroup from losing its funding, which has been supported by parents and members of the community in the Vale of Glamorgan.