Ryhall preschool plans put on hold until demand for places increases

A village preschool could reopen in the future but not in the autumn as previously hoped.

Staff at Ryhall CE Academy conducted a survey to find out whether it would be viable for them to open a new nursery in September.

It followed the closure of Ryhall Childcare Centre last summer and a campaign from parents to reopen it.

Despite strong support from the community, the school realised there would not be enough demand for places this year. Instead staff will continue to look at options for reopening at a later date.

A school spokesperson said: “The feedback from the community so far regarding opening a new nursery provision at Ryhall has been truly heartening. There has been lots of positivity and a huge amount of support.

“During our market research, however, it has become clear that lots of parents already have nursery plans in place for their child for September. As such, we couldn’t quite make it work for the start of the next academic year.

“In addition we have also received a potentially exciting proposal from another interested party that may further strengthen what we are able to offer families of younger children. We are going to enter into discussions to explore this further and will let our community know about if and when we can.”

Ryhall Childcare Centre was privately owned but based in the grounds of the primary school. Its owner decided to close the business last summer after struggling to find a buyer for the business.