A nursery in Mitcham could soon close down for good because the council wants to build a specialist school for vulnerable children.

Dozens of parents and children are calling on Merton Council to reconsider and keep Lavender Nursery open.

Some parents and children put up ‘Save Our Nursery’ signs outside the nursery.

And due to the lockdown, instead of gathering in protest at the site in London Road, others took pictures of themselves with their homemade signs.

Wimbledon Times:

The council says there has been an increase in secondary school children with mental health problems.

Some of the most vulnerable are educated at Melbury College which is based in a temporary home in Morden.

The council is looking to move the specialist educator to the site of Lavender Nursery in London Road.

A consultation on the proposal is currently open and would mean the nursery closing for good in August this year.

Wimbledon Times:

Lilia Sanguano is one of the parents that does not want to see the nursery closed down.

She was hoping to send her daughter Lucia to the nursery this April and her eldest daughter Laura, now four, also attended the nursery.

The 43-year-old from Mitcham said: “It is one of the best nurseries in the area, when I sent my older daughter there she was only speaking Spanish, they supported her and when she finished she spoke great English, they taught phonics and she knew how to write her name.

“I really don’t know what I’ll do for my youngest daughter now, I will need to find something else for her but it is very short notice.”

She added: “My daughter is nearly two and because of Covid she hasn’t had much interaction with other children so I was really hoping I could send her to nursery so she could get talking more and having relationships.”

The nursery is the family’s closest and Lilia is concerned that she will not be able to find another local one.

Wimbledon Times:

Lavender Nursery currently had 80 part-time places for two year olds eligible for free nursery education, and 48 full-time all-year-round places for children between two and four for fee-paying families.

The proposal would mean the fee-paying provision closing and the other 80 children would be found alternative nurseries.

Merton Council’s Joint Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Education, councillor Eleanor Stringer, said: “We are currently holding a public consultation on proposals to expand Merton Medical Education Services.

"As the number of secondary school pupils increases across the borough, there is a growing need for these vital services, which include mental health support.

"Merton Medical Education Services has outgrown its previous premises on the Melbury College site in Canterbury Road, Morden, and is currently operating from a temporary base.

“In recent years, the number of children aged under five living in Merton has continued to decrease and this means that there has been less demand for nursery places.

"Some children who currently attend Lavender Nursery will be leaving to start primary school in September and the 80 council-run places for two-year-olds will be transferred to nearby children’s centres.

"We will help families of the other children to find alternative places nearby in private independent/voluntary sector nurseries, with childminders or in school nursery classes.”

Consultation on the plans closes on February 22 and can be found at consult.merton.gov.uk.