Parents have expressed relief at news that a long-running nursery at the University of Edinburgh will remain open, despite rumours to the contrary.
Representatives have quashed rumours that the facility, which has been located in the Department of Psychology at the university for almost 40 years, is set to close.
Last week a number of parents claimed they had been told by staff at Uni-Tots nursery that it would stop providing childcare in August, but a statement by the university at the time said “no formal decision” had been made.
It went on to say that the nursery “would not be closed until all users were offered alternative facilities”.
Mother Laura Muetzelfeldt, whose three-year-old son Evan attends the nursery, said: “No one could understand it, it’s hard to believe it’s not profitable. It’s difficult to understand what the possible motivation would be for not closing it.”
But now the university has confirmed that it does not plan to shut the nursery down as rumoured.
A new statement said: “The University of Edinburgh is completely committed to providing a nursery service for staff and students at the university and there are no plans to close its Uni-Tots nursery at this stage.
“In fact, the University is looking to expand its nursery provision with a plan to develop a new state-of-the-art facility in the future.
“Senior management from the University met with a delegation of parents on Wednesday to explain to them that, contrary to some reports, Uni-Tots will re-open as normal in its current George Square location in September 2012 after the summer break.
“A service of this kind would never be closed until all users were offered alternative facilities and a full consultation about future nursery provision with all relevant stakeholders had been conducted.”
The nursery, which offers spaces to both students and non-students, is also used for research and teaching in the department, involving children in games providing psychological insights and allowing researchers the opportunity to observe them at play.
Ms Muetzelfeldt added: “I think they realised it was a very unpopular decision to close it, they’re definitely going to keep it open for at least another year.
“It’s an amazing nursery; I think everyone that goes there totally loves it. My son loves going there, he never wants to leave.”
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