A NURSERY faces closure due to a lack of children enrolling.

The governing body of Queen’s Park Primary and Nursery School, in Park Street, Brighton has asked the city council to hold a consultation about the future of the school’s nursery class, including the possibility of its closure.

The consultation is about the proposed closure taking effect from September and the school’s plan to raise the lower age group from three-year-olds to four-year-olds.

Zoe Milton, 37, a full-time parent, from Brighton, said: “My daughter Lily is now in Year 4 but attended the nursery and it is so sad to see that it may now close due to financial struggles.

“They really do great work there, especially with teaching literature and languages.

“The feeling of anger and disappointment is quite high in the local community as a result of the news.

“I must say though there appears to have been no real communication between the school and parents before the school went to the council about the issue.

“I don’t think we know the whole picture as a result of the lack of communication.

“At the end of the day, this is about the children and trying to save money now when they are so young will only likely create more cost when they are older and will require more help with their education as a result.”

There were only 19 children enrolled in the nursery class this spring term but there are 50 places available.

Over the past four years, the number of children being signed up has shown a consistent downward trend.

On average, the cost of a nursery class is estimated to be around £80,000 to £90,000 a year, depending on levels of staff pay, and a full nursery class will generate a budget of around £100,000 a year.

The 2016/17 budget for Queen’s Park nursery class was £55,270 and so the cost to the school’s wider budget is estimated to be around £25,000.

A council spokesman said: “We’re consulting with parents and carers about whether to close the nursery class at Queen’s Park primary school from September 2017.

“We really want to hear people’s views and encourage potential users of the nursery to respond to the consultation.

“We understand the importance of early years’ education and how much users of the nursery value their places.

“The school is subsidising the nursery class due to its low numbers and with increasing pressures on school budgets, this is a situation the school’s governing body has asked us to look into.

“The consultation is open until Friday, April 7.”

A public meeting will be held at the school to discuss the proposal on Wednesday at 3.30pm.