MORE than 100 furious parents have launched a bid to save a South Side nursery.
MORE than 100 furious parents have launched a bid to save a South Side nursery.
Mums and dads from Merrylee Nursery School, in Simshill, Glasgow say plans to axe the 60-pupil nursery will harm their kids' education.
Should the proposal get the go-ahead Merrylee Nursery will merge with Limetree Day Nursery.
Parents opposed to the bid have formed the Merrylee Nursery Parents' Forum - and are determined to fight the closure.
Forum members believe the two facilities have very different aims and to merge them would upset both groups of youngsters.
Limetree Nursery takes young children who are referred from Social Services and have extra support needs.
Parents are worried children in the catchment area will miss out on nursery places that will instead be given to children who are referred from outside the area.
Children attending Merrylee are placed in a morning or afternoon class with two-and-a-half hours dedicated to the national curriculum.
Limetree is open from 8am to 6pm with children coming and going throughout the day.
Parents say merging the two will mean harmful disruption and a drop in educational standards.
Proposals referring to Merrylee also state the nursery falls below capacity with only 50 children.
But parents say there are actually 61 children in attendance - and the school has a waiting list.
Mum Heather McArthur said: "While we are supportive and applaud the work of Limetree Nursery in taking on children who have been specially referred, we don't believe merging the two nurseries is in the best interests of either group of children."
Glasgow City Council plans to shut 13 primary and 12 nursery schools, claiming many of them are in a poor condition.
The council says the proposal, which is under consultation, will save £3.7million a year, to be ploughed back into the education budget.
Parents have come out fighting against the plan, organising marches and even chaining themselves to the City Chambers. A march in George Square on Saturday drew 1000 protestors.
A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: "No final decisions will be made until everybody has had a chance to make their views known.
"If these plans were to go ahead, all the children affected would receive a better education in better accommodation."
