The popular village provision had given staff notice and parents had been warned to find places elsewhere for their children from next term.
After weeks spent chasing Surrey County Council for a lifeline, manager Kerry McGuirk received confirmation from town hall bosses that they were no longer required to go – at least not before alternative premises have been arranged.
‘We’re so happy,’ said parent Carmen Aubry, who launched a petition which topped 1,100 signatures and has two children at the setting, King’s Pre-School in Byfleet, Surrey.
‘They’ve actually now told us they’ve come up with a solution, and they’re confident we’ll be able to stay where we are for the time being,’ added Ms Aubry (pictured below with three-year-old daughter Daniela).
‘They’ve agreed it with the head teacher and the council is going to look at giving us a modular building and they’re looking for somewhere for it to go.
‘So it’s been a real turn around.
‘I think it’s the pressure. They’ve had so many emails and media coverage.
‘Nobody wants bad PR. I think it’s really made them realise how important the pre-school is and how much the community supports it.
‘At the eleventh hour and 59th minute they’ve pulled together and come up with something.
‘The people that work there won’t be losing their jobs now, and Kerry will be taking on new children.’
Campaigners had worked tirelessly in their bid to secure £120,000 to fund the building of new premises in the school grounds, having received the school’s agreement, and last month a community deputation pleaded the case for local authority support, to a council committee.
King's Facebook announcement
Campaigners argued that the failure to support King’s was in breach of the council’s own Education Achievement Plan, and its pledge to invest in early years.
But with a moving out date of 21 July given to them by Byfleet Primary School, where they operated for 13 years, and no solution on the table, the future looked bleak for the pre-school, which offered provision to 72 children and was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.
The provision caters for three- and four-year olds in the school building, and for two- and three-year-olds from a football pavilion elsewhere in the village.
Eight members of staff faced losing their jobs and more than 25 children were about to be without a pre-school place.
Ms Aubry, who works as a driving instructor, said she was among the parents searching for an alternative, and she was not optimistic.
She said the closure would have meant the older group moving up to school in September, and the current younger group remaining in the pavilion, with little capacity to accept more children.
The setting would no longer have been able to accommodate the 15 hours of funding for two-year-olds offered to low-income families.
So the email from council leader David Hodge that week was welcomed to say the least.
Councillor Hodge wrote, ‘I am pleased to say that Surrey County Council has today agreed with the head teacher and governors of Byfleet Primary School that Kings Pre-School will to continue to operate from its base in the school in September whilst the local authority seeks to secure alternative accommodation.
‘An additional modular style building will be provided by Surrey County Council and we will be working closely with the planning authorities to ensure, subject to statutory planning processes, that the new facility will be operational as soon as practically possible.
‘I thank officers and the school for enabling a way forward ensuring that this pre-school can continue to serve its community in Byfleet.’
A council spokesman had previously highlighted the ‘huge pressure for school places across Surrey’, with the county having to find 11,000 in the next five years, amid a multi-million pound funding shortfall.
The council had claimed the earlier closure decision was made by the school, which had agreed to take on an extra reception class to help meet demand following an approach from the town hall.
After the recent development, the spokesman said, ‘Discussions are continuing on the specifics and will be revealed soon.’
Ms Aubry said, ‘I believe they want to come and see Kerry and look at the facilities and she’ll be able to show them the pavilion, show them around and tell them what she needs.
‘They can work together now.
‘The most frustrating thing is it took them six weeks to tell us that.
‘I couldn’t afford one of the bigger nurseries.
‘Kerry’s preschool is much more flexible – you can have the hours that you need.’
The school has not responded to requests for comment.