Council apologises over nursery closure announcement

Dumfries and Galloway Council (DGC) has apologised after announcing the closure of five nurseries without a proper consultation process.

Last week council chiefs contacted parents of children at very small nurseries in the region, informing them that provision would be "paused" from August and that places would be offered elsewhere.

The following day the council admitted it should have run a consultation before making any decision, and offered a "sincere apology" for causing "confusion and upset".

It said a consultation would take place on the future of primary school nurseries in Collin, Creetown, Drummore, Kirkcowan and at St Teresa's RC primary in Dumfries.

A sixth nursery, Dalry Primary School Nursery, will not be affected as there is no nearby alternative nursery available.

Tracey Little, who chairs the council's education, skills and wellbeing committee, said: "DGC offers a sincere apology to the families, communities and employees affected by recent communications about nursery provision at five small nurseries in the region.

"We recognise that over the past few days there has been confusion and upset, and we are sorry.

"We are recontacting all the families affected."

The plan to consult on the future of nurseries with fewer than 10 children was agreed at a meeting to decide the council's 2026/27 budget in February.

Councillors were told that the closure of the nurseries would save the council £310,000.

However, parents were angered when they were told that their nursery provision was being "paused", without any consultation.

A day later, the council admitted it had made a mistake.

Little said the decision to pause provision was "taken in good faith" and was "consistent with Scottish government guidance."

However, she said the council now realised the move did not reflect the expectation of what had been agreed in February which involved consultation which had not yet taken place.

"We have reviewed our approach to ensure it aligns with the democratic decision taken by elected members and the expectations of our communities," she added.

"No final decisions have been made about the long-term future of any nursery setting and plans to temporarily close the five nursery settings will now not go ahead.

"Going forward, the council will undertake formal statutory consultation on the future of each of the five nursery settings.

"The outcome of the statutory consultation process will inform the council's next steps."

Reporting by local democracy journalist Marc McLean.