Irvine parents and staff upset by Elderbank early years changes

North Ayrshire Council approved the move in January due to growing demand for more childcare spaces at Elderbank Early Years.

They extended the hours from 9am-3pm to 8am-6pm, following a consultation with parents.

But in a recent newsletter to the parents, the school revealed: "As staff hours have increased, the majority of existing staff have chosen to move to new posts in order to retain their current 9am-3pm working pattern.

"While we will be sorry to lose them, we fully respect their decisions and wish them well."

One parent, who asked not to be identified, told the Times: "I genuinely believe the staff have been failed horribly and something should be done."

A council spokesman, however, said: "All affected staff have had the opportunity to discuss their work patterns and almost all preferences have been able to be accommodated. As a result, there has been very little staff movement."

At the time of the decision, the council said the proposed changes at Elderbank would make childcare more flexible and accessible for working parents, carers and those with varying daily routines.

But it is believed a large majority of parents and staff members voted in favour of keeping the 9am to 3pm opening times before the new 8am to 6pm times were imposed.

The parent said: "Every level of this consultation has felt like it has been railroaded.

"Even the feedback forms handed out to parents were worded in such a way that they asked what option we would pick after the proposal was accepted. Not whether or not the proposal was acceptable."

They added: "Initially this all came about because the nursery has more than 50 per cent of students with additional needs and they asked for extra help.

The decision was taken by North Ayrshire Council's Cabinet (Image: Newsquest)

"Parents believe that their child is entitled to a place at the primary school, if they attend the nursery, and as the school is very well set up to teach additional needs students, the nursery placements there are desirable.

"Obviously, this isn't the case, though. The staff are on a one-to-six ratio to students. It is clear that while the staff are excellent, they are struggling.

"The change in hours will have staff working longer days and adding 11 more students - with the likelihood that half of them will have additional needs - to a nursery that was struggling enough to ask for help."

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: "A review of early years capacity across the area has shown that while most communities have a good match between places and demand, some early years establishments are experiencing growing pressure for childcare spaces.

“To help meet this rising demand in the Irvine East area – and to ensure local families continue to have access to high-quality, flexible early learning that suits their needs – it was agreed to expand provision at Elderbank from August 2026.

“We undertook engagement with stakeholders, including affected parents and staff, as part of the process of developing the proposal and took on board the feedback received during that process.

“It was agreed to adopt a hybrid model for one more year to accommodate the wishes of parents who already have a child attending the early years class.

"As a result, all parents whose child already attends Elderbank have been given the option of retaining a 9am-3pm attendance pattern for next year, rather than moving to one of the alternative attendance patterns offered through model two.

“In addition, all affected staff have had the opportunity to discuss their work patterns and almost all preferences have been able to be accommodated. As a result, there has been very little staff movement.

“In terms of supporting children’s needs, Elderbank has had an enhanced level of staffing resource and has deployed these resources well to ensure that children are appropriately supported.

"Supporting our children to learn, develop and thrive in an early years environment is and has always been an important priority for us.”