SALFORD FIGHTS FOR THE FIVE -ALMOST A THOUSAND PEOPLE TAKE TO THE STREETS TO SAVE OUR NURSERIES

Hundreds gathered at Victoria Park in Swinton this morning to take part in a planned march upon the Civic Centre.

Politicians stood side by side with campaigners, nursery workers, parents & their children as they prepared to set off to send a strong and stable message to the prime minister and her government.

In scenes not seen in Salford in a very long time, almost a thousand people took to the streets to send home a message to the Government and anyone else that thinks they can steamroll over our City. The message was very clear "We WILL fight and we WILL WIN".

Save our Nurseries, Save our Five was that message and it was sung with pride as they marched along Manchester Road to the accompanying cheers of onlookers and the supportive beeps of passing motorists.

"I can't believe how many people are here." said one spectator, whilst another got a little emotional at seeing the support flooding into the park from all across the City.

After a few moments to compose herself and still with tears in her eyes, Dawne told us:

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"Salford people are Salt of the Earth, when they kick us to the ground we get back up and fight, it's the Salford way and we must never forget that.

"If those in power have not been listening so far then they sure as hell will be now".

The stream of people in their distinctive yellow t-shirts, marching side by side along the road, seemed to never end and we noticed several people grabbing their coats and joining in alongside them as they headed to the Civic Centre lawns where the stage was set for speeches and a mini funfair had been set up for the children.

With banners and flags waving in the crowd, Unison Salford Branch Secretary Stephen North was first to take to the podium as he thanked those assembled for their support.

Unison is the union that represents the staff and workers of the Nurseries and they most certainly have done them proudly during all of this upheaval. 

First up was Shadow Minister for Education Angela Rayner who said:

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"It's a shame that we have to be here today to discuss the services like these five outstanding nurseries that we have here in Salford.

"And it's not just a shame, it's an absolute disgrace, that this government is cutting the funding to our vital services”.

Paying tribute to all those who were involved in the campaign, she told them that it would be they who kept the five nurseries open and that the leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn pledged his support and they had his backing.

Next up onto the podium to speak were representatives of the nursery workers, who started off by thanking people for their support for the campaign.

Sarah (main pic) told the crowd how since the last time they had met things had changed quite a bit:

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"We pushed back the consultation and the closure of the nurseries has been taken off the table, until September 2019.

"That's all thanks to your hard work, your attendance at meetings, your media presence and you spreading the word through petitions and leafleting has been absolutely amazing.

"We wish we could say that this was the end of our campaign but unfortunately it isn't, we are far from out of the woods and as of Monday we will be heading into a public consultation period".

Handing over to Karen from Winton Nursery, she continued by saying.

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"During this time we plan to discuss ideas to keep our nurseries open, we plan to continue with the campaign and plan to go to central government if needed to ensure our nurseries remain open under local authority control.

"We will NOT be privatised!

"We have proved that under the local authority our nurseries are outstanding, FIVE TIMES OVER and we wouldn't want to change that in any way.

Next up was Alison who spoke a little about the children who had attended the nurseries in the past, she read out a touching letter to the Mayor written by a six-year-old girl called Julia who had previously attended her nursery. Julia wrote of how the nursery teachers had helped her to learn English when she first attended and of the friends she had made there, and how her best friend followed her into a primary. She asked the Mayor not to close the nursery as her little brother had recently started there and wanted him to find his best friend as well.

Rather touchingly Julia said that when her mummy told her that the nursery had to close because they had no money, she offered to lend the May the money from her piggy bank given by her grandma and the tooth fairy so it could be kept open.

Next it was time for our local politicians to say a few words, first up was Barbara Keeley MP for Worsley and Eccles South who took to the stage to pledge her support to the campaign. Making reference to the fact that these nurseries have been given an outstanding status by Ofsted, Babara said the reports show just how good they are.

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"They told us how the nurseries are helping our children to shine in communication and language, how the children in the nurseries are independent and active learners and that children thrive in those highly stimulating environments".

She went on to read from a list of comments that had been added to the nursery campaigns social media pages, telling just how important they were to the people of Salford and just what they mean to those who attend and rely on them.

Summing up she spoke of how the City council has a renewed commitment to the future of the nurseries and how they are looking for a solution to prevent them from future closure.

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"So I am here today to show my support and to say to you I will do all I can as a Salford MP to help the City council to find a solution".

Before handing over to her fellow MP, Rebecca Long Bailey (Salford and Eccles), she told of how both of them had spoken on what they could do to try and get a meeting with the education secretary to bring it to her attention and push Salfords case.

Rebecca started by telling the crowd how heart warmed she felt at seeing all those attending the rally.

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"My mums got a saying... if you push us into a corner you do it at your peril

"Because we always come out fighting

"And that's what you have done in this campaign, your not being pushed into a corner 

"And I know you are going to fight to save these five nurseries

Pledging 101% support from herself as well as Barbra Keeley, Graham Stringer, Angela Raynor and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, she read a statement sent by the Labour leader who sadly could not make it due to other commitments.

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"Tory cuts have failed local councils and failed young children and their families, and the changes to Early Years funding formula continues to fail them.

Childhood sets the course of achievement for the whole of a lifetime, not to mention the ability of parents to work themselves.

But this Government's disregard of the funding of the key local services not only threatens the families and dedicated staff in five outstanding nurseries in Salford, but it also undermines the Government's claim that they are building solid economic foundations for the future.

"Childcare and Early Years providers must now receive the funding it needs to properly deliver thirty hours of free childcare for three and four-year-olds, and Government ministers must now listen and act, and listen to Salford."

Graham Stringer MP for Broughton and Blackley took to the podium next to echo what the others had said.

It was now time for the most important voices of the day to be heard, the parents and carers of the children who rely on these Outstanding Nurseries the most.

We thought it important that you hear from their mouths just how important the nurseries are for them and how much they mean to their children, so we made this into its own video featuring just them.

One of those parents, Clare Calderwood who has a child in Winton nursery, said:

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"Privatisation is a red line for us

"We will continue to campaign to make sure these nurseries are kept open and under Council control, closure is off the table but it is only for now.

"We have achieved all this in one month, as we strengthen our campaign we can achieve more.

"Now we campaign together at Westminster, we demand the funding and we urge the Council to scrap the consultation until that pressure on the Government has happened.

"We will push forward with this campaign. Our children's future is too important to stop now."

Finally, it was the turn of City Mayor Paul Dennet who told onlookers of his 'Grim duty' to have to preside over more cuts from central government.

Citing the £198m worth of cuts to Salford budgets since 2010, Mayor Dennett took aim at the Tories who he placed the blame firmly upon for what amounts to over 50% cuts to funding.

Giving praise, Paul said it was the dedicated and passionate staff in local government and who deliver outstanding services under 'tremendous pressures', day in, day out.

Not all were impressed, however, after the meeting we spoke to several people who asked just where the money had suddenly come from and if it was going to be syphoned from other services.

We have asked the City Mayor for further info on Twitter and will update this post once more information on the funding source becomes apparent.

All in all, it was a fantastic day which was summed up at the end in the words of Stephen North.

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"We're gonna fight whoever we need to fight, we're going to challenge whoever we need to challenge and we are all going to work together to continue to build this campaign, to be bigger and stronger for the marches and for the demonstrations to come.

"So thank you for coming out today

"I could not be more proud, to be in this city, Today

"Enjoy your afternoon, Enjoy your weekend, you are all absolutely fantastic".

And just like that, it was all over, FOR NOW.