Middlewood Nature Nursery is at imminent risk of closuredue to the withdrawal of Free Hours funding by the Local Authority, Sheffield City Council.

Changes to government funded childcare provision and the Cost of Living Crisis has led to unprecedented upheaval in the Early Years education sector. At MNN, we have not been exempted from this. The withdrawal of Local Authority funding will mean that the nursery, based in Winn Gardens, Sheffield, will have to close its doors in May 2025.

A Forest School provision, the nursery has been labelled a “safe haven” and “lifeline” to the children and families who consider the staff to be family. For the past 11 years, MNN has given Early Years children the love and space to grow into independent, self-advocating, and caring young people and losing such a resource would be incredibly detrimental to the local area as well as the city as a whole.

We are petitioning Sheffield City Council to immediately reinstate funding and to ensure that such a vital asset to the education of our children remains financially supported during these turbulent economic times.

The local authority has failed to provide adequate support to families during this transition, leaving many without viable childcare options and placing enormous pressure on working parents.
At the same time, the Ofsted report used to justify these changes is inaccurate and does not reflect the true quality of care provided. The inspection was not carried out appropriately for a forest school setting, with criteria applied that are more suited to standard indoor nurseries, leading to an unfair and unbalanced assessment and ultimately cut to local authority funding.

Please sign and share this petition with your friends, family, neighbours, and colleagues. Contact your local councillors and MPs. Save Middlewood Nature Nursery.