South Tyneside Council’s Reform UK-controlled cabinet has voted to close all 10 of its remaining council-run STANLEY’s nurseries by 31 July 2027, with staffing reductions expected to begin from December 2026 and 116 employees currently working across the centres.
The decision was approved at a cabinet meeting at South Shields Town Hall on Wednesday, 23 September, following months of campaigning by parents, staff and trade unions.
Members of the public gathered in the gallery shouted “shame” as the decision was announced.
Council says £1.1m subsidy is no longer viable
South Tyneside Council says the STANLEY’s network requires an annual subsidy of around £1.1 million and argues that continuing to operate the nurseries directly is no longer financially sustainable.
Michelle Fascione, Reform UK councillor and the council’s lead member for children’s services, said the authority does not have a statutory obligation to run nursery provision itself.
The council does, however, have a responsibility to ensure sufficient childcare is available to families in the borough.
Fascione said the authority would work to find alternative provision for every affected child, including children with special educational needs and disabilities, although replacement places may not necessarily be in parents’ preferred locations.
The council’s own 2026–31 Medium Term Financial Plan shows the scale of the wider financial pressures facing the authority.
It identified a £11.654 million budget gap for 2026/27, with £11.119 million expected to be addressed through service efficiencies. Within that programme, a “Review of Children’s Day Care Provision” was allocated £764,000 of planned savings.
That £764,000 figure is separate from the £1.1 million annual subsidy the council says is currently required to operate STANLEY’s.
More than 400 children using the nurseries
More than 400 children were enrolled across the 10 centres when campaigners staged a protest through South Shields in July.
An estimated 200 people joined that demonstration outside the town hall amid fears the nurseries would be lost.
The centres affected are Stanley’s at Marine Park, All Saints, Bede, Biddick Hall and Whiteleas, Boldon, Hebburn, Horsley Hill, Primrose, Ridgeway and Riverside.
Several of the nurseries operate alongside children’s centres or family hubs and campaigners argue their role extends beyond simply providing childcare.
The Save Our Stanley’s campaign says the services provide early-years education, family support and community connections, while helping parents remain in work.
Parents fear alternative places will not be available
Parents have raised concerns about whether the private and voluntary childcare sector will be able to absorb children displaced by the closures, particularly those requiring additional support.
Sophie Thompson, whose child attended one of the centres, described the decision as “devastating”, telling the BBC:
“It’s really hard for working parents to get back to work and this just makes it even harder.”
Another parent, Eve Sanders, said she feared some centres could effectively close earlier than July 2027 if staff began leaving before the official closure date.
Sanders, whose child attends one of the nurseries and whose five-month-old twins were on a waiting list, also questioned whether suitable alternative SEND provision could be secured in time.
Review began under previous Labour administration
The background to the decision is that the review of council-run childcare did not begin under Reform UK.
A review of children’s daycare provision was already part of South Tyneside Council’s financial plans under the previous administration, and the review of the STANLEY’s nurseries was agreed before Reform took control of the council.
However, the decision to proceed with the closure of all 10 nurseries was taken by the current Reform-controlled cabinet.
Reform UK swept to power in South Tyneside at the May 2026 local elections, winning 41 of the council’s 54 seats despite having held none beforehand. Labour was reduced to one councillor, while the Greens won 10 seats and two independents were elected.
The distinction is that the previous administration initiated a review of the service, while the new administration has now approved the complete withdrawal of the council from directly operating the 10 remaining nurseries.
Campaign to save STANLEY’s
The proposals have faced opposition since they became public earlier this year.
Trade unions including UNISON and GMB have supported efforts to retain the services, while parents established the Save Our Stanley’s campaign and organised protests against the closures.
UNISON said in June that the centres provided essential childcare and wider early-years support for families across South Tyneside and called on the authority to keep them open.
Despite that campaign, the cabinet has now backed closure.
Under the approved timetable, the STANLEY’s nurseries are due to cease operating by 31 July 2027, with reductions among the 116-strong workforce beginning from December 2026.
