Pre-school parents face fees hike

Parents of children at a north Kent pre-school could be forced to pay up to £50 extra a month to cover a rent increase of £4,500 a year.

Riverside Pre-School Kindergarten, in Horton Kirby, has been told by the parish council to pay more for the use of the village hall.

Four hundred parents angered by the decision have signed a petition against the move.

Local MP Howard Stoate is hoping it will force the council to think again.

They are treating the pre-school as a commercial organisation Howard Stoate, Labour MP for Dartford

Cecilia Reynolds, who has managed the pre-school for more than 37 years, said the parish council had told her it had a deficit in its accounts, and had to make up the shortfall.

She said the increase would fall on those parents who have to pay for their children, rather than those whose places are funded by the government.

She said there were currently 29 fee-paying parents who would have to pay an extra £2 per session.

The Labour MP for Dartford, Howard Stoate, said it was "deeply regrettable" that the parish council should seek to raise the money on the back of what was effectively a community facility.

Future 'with parents'

"Particularly as the government puts so much emphasis now on pre-school education as being so important in a child's life," he said.

"They are now treating the pre-school as a commercial organisation, which I think is entirely unjustified and they are using that as an excuse effectively to fill a hole in their own budget."

"They are not doing the village any favours at all."

Ms Reynolds said she hoped the pre-school would not have to close, but that its future was down to the parents who would have to pay the fees.

Members of the parish council said they were unable to comment on the issue on Tuesday.