Although the St John's Nursery closed on 30 August, parents said they were refusing to go quietly. They have lobbied the council and held protests and marches in an attempt to keep open the 45-place nursery, which has operated since the end of the Second World War.
Parent Charlie Kimber said, 'St John's Nursery is a haven in the middle of Hackney. It is based in a nice building in a large walled garden and is used by many local people who work for the local hospital and other services. We are concerned about the disruption that the nursery closure will have on our own children, but it will also result in far fewer nursery places for future children in the area.'
He described the nursery's closure as being 'a purely financial decision'
by the council 'because it is a successful full nursery with a long waiting list and excellent Ofsted reports'.
'The council decided in March that it wanted to save 190,000 from the early years budget and it has decided to close St John's with no real consultation,' Mr Kimber said.
The 'festival of resistance' was planned as a way for people in Hackney to come together and show their anger at what they perceive to be a lack of commitment to childcare services.
On 1 August, responsibility for education services in Hackney, including day nurseries, schools, the play service and adult education, was taken over by the Learning Trust, a private not-for-profit company that has become the first to manage the education of an entire borough in the UK. It is headed by chief executive Alan Wood and Mike Tomlinson, former Ofsted chief inspector of schools.
The St John's Parents' Campaign has appealed to the Learning Trust to intervene and stop the nursery's closure.
Gail Chester of pressure group Friends of Hackney Nurseries said, 'Having read the initial report by the inspectors who proposed the set-up of the trust I was optimistic that they would improve because the inspectors stressed the importance of early years education. However, every indication that has come out since then shows that it is going to be business as usual.
'We need to see some concrete evidence that they are prepared to act on the advice given before they were set up in order to change the anti-nursery culture in Hackney.'