Later this month, the City of London plans to end its long-standing subsidy of the 0–2 childcare facility at The Aldgate School, the only state-funded school in the Square Mile. The school is located in the most deprived part of the City. 

A final decision will be made on Tuesday 30 June at the City’s Community and Children’s Services Committee, so this is an urgent issue. 

The City has offered no proposals for an alternative facility.

The annual subsidy, which the City has provided for the last 20 years, is only 0.058% of the City’s £300,000,000 annual budget. As one of the wealthiest local authorities in the world, we know that they can easily afford this. 


WHO THIS AFFECTS 

City families – working parents – will be left with no affordable childcare options when the subsidy is cut off in August 2027.

It will mean job losses for experienced, dedicated staff.

Our children will lose access to a safe, high quality early years setting, with a large outdoor play space and thoughtfully designed open-plan classrooms that support social development, continuity of care and strong early social bonds.

WHY THIS MATTERS

If the Aldgate School provision closes, no comparable affordable service exists in the City.

Removing the funding will have minimal budgetary impact but significant, long-term social consequences for families who rely on this essential community provision. 

While the UK government is investing hundreds of millions of pounds to build and expand school-based nurseries across England, the City’s Labour-led committee is making this decision against its own party’s policy.

The City should be building and expanding services for children and families, not removing support for one of its most established, effective and accessible provisions. 

Without a credible replacement, closing this service will reduce childcare access, undermine support for working families, and narrow the City’s commitment to an inclusive community. Maintaining and strengthening The Aldgate School’s provision would better support the City’s stated goals of creating a thriving, diverse, and family-friendly community.

We urge the City to reconsider their position and continue to support this unique learning environment.

We, the parents of children who attend childcare at the Aldgate School, need your support. Please join us in protecting the future of our children and the staff who care for them by signing this petition. Your support can make a difference!

Email the decision makers:

Helen Fentimen, Chair of City of London Community and Children's Services Committee: Helen.Fentimen@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman of the City of London: christopher.hayward@cityoflondon.gov.uk