Councillors set to scrap plans to mothball nurseries at special meeting following protests
Last updated 2nd May 2025
Councillors in the Scottish Borders have called a special meeting to scrap plans to mothball a number of the region's rural nurseries.
It comes amid mounting pressure from parents and politicians, and follows a protest outside a school in one of the communities affected just hours earlier.
The motion to be discussed by Scottish Borders Council on Friday (May 9th) proposes that early learning and childcare provisions continue at Channelkirk, Cockburnspath, Ednam, Walkerburn and Yetholm after the summer holidays.
This, it adds, "may include composite stages being implemented following engagement with parents and carers."
The mothballed status of council-run nurseries in Sprouston, Westruther and Fountainhall will also be reviewed, as planned, through consultation with the parents and carers in these communities.
"This review," the motion states, "will continue the exploration of the opportunity to provide outdoor early learning and childcare provision at Heriot."
Councillor Julie Pirone, SBC's Executive Member for Education, Youth Development and Lifelong Learning, said: “After listening to many voices on our very small rural nursery provision, I am pleased that officers have developed innovative solutions that could be implemented for the upcoming academic year.
“These continue to put the educational experience of our children at the heart of everything we do and are a potential way forward for 2025/26. Removing the prospect of mothballing in this next year also provides some certainty for children and parents/carers and allows for further work and engagement on our mothballing policy.
“I would like to thank everyone who has engaged with the Council over the last few weeks and given helpful views to allow us to come up with potential solutions, which I believe will work in our small rural committees and which answers many of the questions asked of us.”
The motion also asks that Council agrees to form a Member Officer Working Group to review and further develop the draft mothballing policy, taking into account the views of parents, stakeholders and national guidance.
A spokesperson for the local authority said: "Further to the decision of Executive Committee on April 15th, possible alternative compromise options have been explored by education officers in relation to small rural early learning and childcare provisions at risk of mothballing.
"These individual solutions could provide accessible services for families living in rural communities while addressing the challenge of operating a traditional nursery class for very small numbers of children.
"A special meeting of Full Council will take place at 9am on Friday, May 9th to enable this to be discussed. This has required a formal notice and motion to be submitted as a procedural step to allow the meeting to take place and Elected Members to consider this matter. This has been signed by 18 Elected Members."
It's still unclear what the future holds for the nursery at Glendinning in Galashiels, which was forced to close following an issue with the fire exit.
But campaigners are welcoming the announcement.
A spokesperson for the Save Channelkirk Nursery campaign said: "Today we received the news that the council will be holding a special meeting where they will vote to rescind the awful motion from the 15th of April and replace it with something that will keep nurseries open and importantly include parents in the working group going forward.
"It is still unclear what the proposals are regarding staged composites and there may well be discussions to be had around the suitability of that, however families at least know that their nurseries will still exist in some form for 25/26.
"After a hard three months, we are glad the council are finally listening to the concerns of the community. I just hope some apologies to staff and families are forthcoming for the terrible way they have been treated in that time."
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