Council 'pulling out' of running nurseries

Leeds City Council is set to pull out of running 12 nurseries under plans to address its budget shortfall.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the Little Owls childcare centres could be taken over by schools, charities and private companies.

The authority, which faces a budget shortfall of £273m over the next five years, has already shut three nurseries under plans to save £900,000 this year.

Four of the nurseries could be taken over by neighbouring schools, while talks with alternative providers are set to open over the other eight.

Twenty-one providers have expressed an interest in running the nurseries at Shepherds Lane, City and Holbeck, Hunslet Rylestone, Rothwell, Meanwood, Bramley, Osmondthorpe and Burley Park.

Four more – St Mary’s Hunslet, Parklands, Hawksworth Wood and Quarry Mount – could be taken over by schools under the proposals.

A council report said the local authority would continue to run the nurseries if discussions "do not progress to a satisfactory conclusion".

The council’s executive board will be asked to agree to the plans at a meeting on Wednesday.

The report said the Little Owls budget was overspent by £1.9m in 2022/23 and £840,000 in 2023/24.

It said: “As the financial position of Leeds City Council becomes increasingly challenging, the Little Owls current ongoing deficit, exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, has come under additional scrutiny and has stimulated a full business review.”

The closure of the Little Owls nurseries at Gipton North, Chapel Allerton and Kentmere in August saw 80 children moved to other Little Owls settings, with redundancies avoided.

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