Update – Closure of Sprig Ludens Outdoor Nursery and future plans for Streatham Vale Park
With regret we have had to announce the permanent closure of Sprig Ludens outdoor nursery on 20 March 2024.
SYCT established Sprig Ludens in 2018, with the aim of providing high quality, affordable childcare with a strong focus on outdoor learning. At the time, the nursery was anticipated to operate from 9am to 3pm, term time only. As a result, the provision was not expected to impact our other services, such as our afterschool and holiday provision. In addition, we were expecting the nursery to create a small surplus which could be used to cross-subsidise our free-to-access services for the wider community.
With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that we underestimated the skill and expertise needed to run a small, standalone nursery in a safe and financially viable way. Particularly in the context of insufficient central government funding for free childcare, we were unable to provide the high-quality affordable childcare we set out to deliver in a sustainable way. In addition, the extended hours of operation of the nursery and the financial deficit it creates are negatively impacting our ability to deliver the free and affordable services we have been commissioned to deliver for the wider community through our lease of the Hut.
As a result, we have taken the difficult decision to close the nursery. We tried to give nursery parents as much notice as possible to help them make alternative arrangements for their children. In February 2024 we reported concerns around the quality of our provision to Ofsted. We took quick and decisive steps to resolve the issues identified and Ofsted agreed we had taken appropriate action to put this right. Based on this, and in response to parental feedback, we hoped to be able to remain open until the end of the summer term to provide the best possible transition for our children, families, and staff. Unfortunately, since then new facts have come to light which, taken together, meant we could no longer assure ourselves of the quality and safety of our service. We are thankful to the Lambeth Early Years team for exploring these concerns with us. In light of these discussions SYCT concluded that we were non-compliant with the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and that we had no way of putting this right within a reasonable timeframe. In line with our statutory duties, we therefore closed the nursery with immediate effect and informed Ofsted of our decision.
While there is ample good quality nursery provision in the Streatham Vale area and the Lambeth Early Years team were able to reassure us that there were sufficient alternative local nursery spaces immediately available, Sprig Ludens was unique both in its ethos and the amount of outdoor space it offered. We have therefore explored whether a third-party provider would be able to take over running the nursery on site. Regrettably, our discussions with an interested third-party quickly showed that they would face similar constraints in terms of having to run the nursery from 8am to 6pm, 5 days a week, almost year-round to make sure that the venture was financially sustainable. After reviewing this, the SYCT Board concluded that it would not be in the interest of the wider community to pursue this option. This is because a private full-time nursery at the Hut would severely restrict the services that SYCT would be able to provide in the Park.
