Ministry blamed for centre loss

The Ministry of Education is being blamed for the almost certain closure of a 29-year-old childcare centre.

First Five staff were told in May that they needed to vacate their property on the old Kenepuru Hospital grounds in Porirua by the end of September.

The land would transfer to Ngati Toa as part of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement, and it was earmarked for the development of 600 new homes.

The ministry offered an empty early childhood education facility, opposite Tawa College, to the centre, but the college objected, saying it owned the building, and it was not the ministry’s to give away.

First Five supervisor Jenni Mason said that was confirmed last month by the ministry. ‘‘We’ve just wasted months because the ministry promised us a building that wasn’t theirs. They assured us it was a Crown building on Crown land ... now we’ve run out of time.’’

She planned to gather the centre’s 36 families and seven staff tonight to tell them the doors would close on December 2.

‘‘It’s heartbreaking, one staff member has been here for over 20 years. This was never just a business, we never saw children as dollar signs.’’

Hayden Prosser, whose daughter attended the centre for 18 months, laid the imminent closure firmly at the ministry’s feet.

‘‘There’s no appetite to explore even a temporary location, it’s like they don’t even want to try. They obviously have it in their heads to

"It’s heartbreaking ... we never saw children as dollar signs." First Five supervisor Jenni Mason

shut it down. They don’t know if they owned a building and they haven’t been clear and honest with us ... they’ve dropped the ball.’’

The company in charge of the Kenepuru development, Carrus Corporation, said First Five could move or sell the building it now occupied, but Morris said the cost of relocation was too much.

The ministry’s head of sector enablement and support, Kim Shannon, confirmed that the building it offered to First Five was owned by Tawa College, after being gifted to it by a previous early childhood provider.

‘‘Since Tawa College own the building, First Five Childcare Centre need to negotiate with the school to use the building, and we have explained this to them.

‘‘If relocation isn’t possible, then our support will include linking parents with other alternative licensed services. There are a number of [these nearby] that have current vacancies.’’