Mothers win nursery battle

A Tipton nursery school set up by four mothers with a £500 grant has been saved from closure by the West Midlands business advice group.

Late last year Tipton Toddlers was considering the possibility of closing its doors for good.

But just months on, it is operating at full capacity after staff were given intense training in finance, planning and marketing.

Tipton Toddlers, which was set up in 1999, now employs a small army of four full-time and 16 part-time staff supported by 10 volunteers, and provides day care for 90 children aged from two months to 12 years.

For much of last year the company was struggling to compete with services offered by Government-backed Sure Start schemes – which provide free sessions for under-fives – and was planning to close at Christmas. But after working with a team from Business Link West Midlands the nursery, which scored well with Ofsted inspectors, was able to turn the situation around.

Founder Kerry Whitehouse said: "The Sure Start scheme is an excellent initiative in many ways.

"Now we're working in partnership with it, while maintaining our own identity and that includes acting as a training placement provider."

The team has now created a Tipton Toddlers logo and is distributing brochures and information about the nursery to local schools.

Children are collected from all three local primary schools and out-of-school care is provided in partnership with Alexandra High.