Continuation of childcare service at The Aldgate School receives ‘overwhelming’ support

In a consultation, three-quarters of respondents preferred that childcare services at The Aldagte School continue, with a councillor labelling the results ‘crystal clear’.

A consultation on the future of childcare provision for babies through to two-year-old toddlers at The Aldgate School, near the border between the City of London and Tower Hamlets, has found overwhelming support to retain the service as it exists today.

Three-quarters of respondents signalled their preferred option is that the subsidy for the provision at the school continues, with the vast majority (87%) ranking last the option of removing it.

Common Councillor Jason Pritchard, a representative for the local Portsoken ward, said the consultation results are ‘crystal clear’, and any move to close or reduce the service would go against the wishes of parents, carers and residents.

The Aldgate School is a one-form entry primary in the east of the Square Mile. Rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted, the school offers full and part-time day care for children aged between 12 weeks and three years, a service reliant on a subsidy paid by the City of London Corporation.

The provision’s future was thrown into doubt when last March the Corporation agreed to amend how local children’s centre services are delivered.

A consequence of this would be that the funding for The Aldgate School to provide affordable childcare would not be extended beyond August 2025.

Following a series of protestations by parents and some local representatives in January, members sitting on the Community and Children’s Services Committee voted to extend the subsidy for a further year and reconsult on potential changes to the model.

The consultation ran until 2 May, and at a Court of Common Council meeting last week (22 May), Deputy Marianne Fredericks requested the findings be shared.

Deputy Helen Fentimen, Chair of the Community and Children’s Services Committee, responded by detailing the number of responses (151) and who the respondents were, the majority being City of London residents.

‘All of those responses are currently being analysed and, as said previously, the results will be presented to the members of the Community and Children’s Services Committee on June 19,’ she said.

Deputy Fentimen added officers are working on a proposed zero to two childcare policy, and her hope is that the recommendation will be to introduce a subsidy across the City, which she claimed would be ‘fair and equitable’.

Deputy Fredericks followed by saying she understood the results had come back with ‘overwhelming support’ for the continuation of the provision at The Aldgate School, before Cllr Pritchard later put to the Court: ‘Under the Member–Officer Protocol, we have the right to information relevant to our duties.

‘So for the record: 75 per cent ranked keeping The Aldgate School subsidy as their first choice, 87 per cent ranked removing it as their last.

‘Would the Chairman agree that this consultation result is unambiguous and that the service should now be protected as it stands?’

Deputy Fentimen reiterated that the consultation findings are being analysed and said she did not wish to comment on one or two of the results.

‘I think it is proper for the committee to see the detailed analysis in the round and to take account of all of the responses that have been made rather than focus on one or two.’

She continued to say it is clear there is support for the provision to be retained as it is, and that all of the responses are ‘equally important’ and will be considered by the committee.

The Corporation is yet to publish the consultation results, though the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has seen the data confirming Cllr Pritchard’s comments in Court.

Cllr Pritchard told the LDRS: ‘The results of the consultation are crystal clear – families overwhelmingly support retaining the current zero to two childcare provision at The Aldgate School. This is a trusted, purpose-built setting that has delivered high-quality early years care for over two decades. Any move to close or reduce provision there would directly contradict the wishes of parents, carers, and City residents and would seriously undermine the credibility of the consultation process itself. I now expect the City to respect the outcome of its own consultation and provide families with the certainty they deserve.’

He added parents must have found it ‘bewildering’ that at City Question Time last week the Corporation said it is to spend close to £200 million on the first phase of the Barbican Centre refurbishment, while at the same time ‘families are fighting to save a vital childcare service that costs just £165,000 a year’.

‘It speaks volumes about the City’s priorities and the message this sends to working families who rely on accessible, affordable childcare.’

A City of London Corporation spokesperson confirmed the data quoted by Cllr Pritchard was correct and that the full findings, with further details, will be presented at the Community and Children’s Services Committee on 19 June.

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