We are calling on Brighton and Hove City Council to stop the closure of the Bright Start baby room.

Background

Bright Start is a much-loved Council-run nursery, currently located in Barrack Yard in the North Laine. In November 2023, Brighton and Hove City Council announced plans to move the nursery to the Tarner Centre in September 2024 and to close the nursery’s baby room, scrapping all provision for under 2s.

The closure of the baby room will strip the city centre of one of the few affordable nurseries in the area providing care for under 2s. The nursery has a high proportion of children Special Educational Needs and disabilities and a high proportion with English as an additional language, but the Council have not undertaken a full Equalities Impact Assessment on the impact of the baby room closure.

The Council have also failed to consider other locations for the nursery, particularly co-locating the nursery in the nearby St Bartholomew’s School, which the Council is trying to close.

We’re calling on the Council to rethink this decision and protect affordable city-centre childcare for under 2s.