East Sussex pre-school at risk of closure amidst rising costs

Mayfield Pre-School, located in Court Meadow near the primary school, has been open since 1985. The school is a charity and relies on funding each year to stay open.

Pepper Lea, a parent of a child at the pre-school, started a fundraiser in February, to help support the education facility amidst rising maintenance costs and falling government subsidies.

Pepper said: “For them, fundraising is essential to stay open. Just to stay a float so they can continue to offer great schooling for the families of the village and the surrounding areas.”

Currently, the pre-school receives £4.33 an hour from the government for every funded child, which does not cover the overall cost of an hour of care, leaving it in a deficit. The school will also have to cope with minimum wage increasing by more than 9% in April.

Pepper said: “The general feeling is the current situation is not fair on families, it’s not fair on the providers who are trying their best to deliver quality care and education that children need and deserve. Particularly at that young age when they are still storing and forming and becoming little humans.”

In January 2023, the pre-school was graded Outstanding by Ofsted in all areas and a really nurturing and caring environment for little ones between the ages of 2 to school age.

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Pepper said: “My third child is attending the pre-school. All three of my children have been there. It’s been a wonderful start for their learning journey and I feel very strongly we shouldn't have to watch it close.

“Villages are quite isolated. There are not that many local services, the preschool is also a feeder into the primary school. Many of the children start their learning journey at the pre-school and have interactions with the primary. It's a really nice opportunity for the children to feel comfortable and confident when they start school at the age of four. This is not typical of many nurseries.

“It is a school setting with a normal school term time and emphasis on learning, but it's done in a very nice curiosity lead way. its not hard on the children. It’s suited to little people.”