Little Owls: Leeds Council to pull funding for 12 nurseries under plans to save £900,000
Leeds Council is set to pull out of running a dozen nurseries to save cash as talks are held with alternative providers.
Little Owls nurseries around the city could be taken over by schools, charities and private companies.
Leeds City Council has already closed three nurseries in Gipton, Seacroft and Chapel Allerton under plans to save £900,000 this year.
A further 12 were subject to a “market sounding exercise” to find other organisations to run them.
A council report said four of the nurseries – St Mary’s Hunslet, Parklands, Hawksworth Wood and Quarry Mount – could be taken over by neighbouring schools.
A formal procurement process will be launched over the other eight after 21 providers expressed an interest.
The report said: “In the event that those detailed discussions do not progress to a satisfactory conclusion the council’s default position will be that settings are retained by the council and directly delivered.”
The council’s executive board will be asked to agree to press ahead with the nursery plans at a meeting on Wednesday (October 16).
The council has said it faces a budget shortfall of £273m over the next five years.
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 eight nurseries in the procurement process are Shepherds Lane, City and Holbeck, Hunslet Rylestone, Rothwell, Meanwood, Bramley, Osmondthorpe and Burley Park.
The closure of Little Owls Gipton North, Chapel Allerton and Kentmere saw 80 children moved to other Little Owls settings.
There were no redundancies after 34 staff were transferred to other nurseries.
The report said: “Work is now under way to close down the buildings as bases for delivery of Little Owls nurseries. Family Services will continue to be delivered at Kentmere and Chapel Allerton.”
Little Owls nurseries look after children aged between three months and five years. The council currently has 21 of the nurseries following the three closures on August 31.
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “The council has a duty to ensure there is sufficient childcare capacity in the city so parents and carers can work or train. Whilst we do not have to directly deliver provision, we are proposing to continue to operate a minimum of nine settings in Leeds.
“In providing its own direct nursery service, Leeds City Council remains an outlier among councils in England and this investment - at a time of significant financial stress for the council and local government in general - is a sign of the council’s commitment to early intervention and delivering the best start it can to children across the city.
“Following the market sounding exercise on the potential for alternative providers at 12 settings, the council will – subject to executive board approval - seek to transfer responsibility of four settings (St Mary’s Hunslet, Parklands, Hawksworth Wood and Quarry Mount) to nearby schools.
“For the remaining eight Little Owls settings (Shepherds Lane, City & Holbeck, Hunslet Rylestone, Rothwell, Meanwood, Bramley, Osmondthorpe and Burley Park), work will begin on the formal process of determining whether provision can move to alternative providers.
“We will continue to engage with parents and carers and will seek assurances that future provision will remain of high quality, with an appropriate level of fees, and continues to be child-centred and reflect the need to ensure the most vulnerable children in the city are well catered for.”