Letters, contributions and comments sent in to the Advertiser this week.

Anger at nursery closures

Claire Deegan, writes:

I am writing to share my distress about the closure of the local day nurseries. I have two sons, ages two and four.

When it was time for me to go back to work after my first maternity leave I chose Mary Sambrook after visiting all the local nurseries.

I chose it because it was so well resourced had such experienced, caring staff. It was a lovely environment for a child, with enough space to accommodate a large number of children.

It always seemed quite empty and when I asked why the staff said there was a consultation about closing the nurseries. This baffled me; the nursery has the capability to make a huge profit.

The consultation happened and the council didn’t get the answer they wanted from the public.

I breathed a sigh of relief and signed up my youngest son.

Just as my youngest son was due to start the council announced another consultation and that Mary Sambrook would be ‘temporarily’ closing as of September.

When my oldest son had his leaving party I cried - I knew Mary Sambrook wouldn’t open it’s doors to children again.

The council would not change its agenda.

My youngest son was shunted to John Smiths and it was announced that it too would close at Christmas.

I again feel anger at the council.

All the resources are being sent to other nurseries and all the excellent staff are being redeployed.

With a modicum of effort the nurseries could have been thriving and profitable.

Instead early years daycare in Tower Hamlets will never be the same again. I would like to thank all the amazing staff for what they have done for both my sons. As for the Labour councillors, aside from those who called in the O and S committee,

I am now a lifelong Labour voter who will abstain from local elections in the future.

Volunteers needed

Rupa-dey Amin, head of region for fundraising, NSPCC, writes:

The NSPCC has had a very successful 2018.

We rely on public support to help us continue our work and it is only thanks to the generosity of people in London that we have been able to reach so many children.

The New Year brings with it the opportunity to make a fresh start a chance to make resolutions and if any of your readers haven’t yet supported us, we would love them to think about getting involved in 2019. There are so many ways to do this.

Why not take part in a sponsored event? Volunteer for our Speak Out Stay Safe service or Childline, or join your nearest fundraising group and organise your own fundraising events?

• To find out how you can support the NSPCC and help us reach even more children in 2019 and beyond, visit nspcc.org.uk/what-you-can-do.