Goring children's centre trustees under pressure
THERE has been mounting criticism of the trustees of a Goring nursery for children with special needs since plans to restructure it were announced.
Parents claim the trustees of the Camelia Botnar Children's Centre failed to properly plan for its future and do not understand why the reported 1million in reserve cannot be used to fund the nursery.
Currently, Camelia Botnar runs three separate nursery rooms for children with different needs.
But to cut back on 9,000 a week running costs, the trustees want to run the nursery as one room and make half the staff redundant.
Parents' outrage
This has outraged parents, who fear the change will mean the centre may have to cut the number of children it cares for, or at worst, close.
In a letter to the Herald, parent Sophie Spearman said: "There is 1million in reserves, which should be used to maintain services while a long-termfund-raising plan is drawn up.
"There is absolutely no immediate need for cuts, especially when there is no strategy or viable business plan to justify them.
Use reserves
In another letter Jac Naylor added: "Trustees could use the reserves to invest in staff training to enable the centre to provide a more educational environment as well as a caring one.
"The children could definitely benefit from new toys and the centre itself would benefit from refurbishment to make it a more vibrant, colourful and interactive environment for the children."
There were also claims a parent, Brian O'Hagan, had offered his services as a fund-raiser for free – an offer said to have been rejected by the trustees.
Trustees view
But chairman of the trustees, Barry Clarke, has hit back, saying they are currently investigating lots of funding options to secure the centre's future.
He claimed the services of the Mr O'Hagan, a professional fund-raiser, were offered for a fee of 35 per hour, so they decided not to take up his services.
With regard to planning for the centre's future, he said closure had not been considered and felt volunteers could be the key to the centre's survival.
Tall order
He said: "We have been fully funded up to now, but 9,000 a week is a tall order to meet.
"In 2009, the trustees negotiated a gift of a freehold property with a value of over 200,000 which is now a part of the Camelia Botnar Children's Centre assets."
He added: "Now, with our intended restructuring, with the possible help of parents on a voluntary basis and local authority assistance, we have funding for up to the next three years without losing the total number of children already attending.
"With this help and the size of the facility, we may well be able to cater for a considerable increase in the number of children we already have."
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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