Ballogie Nursery: 'Little Thea will be in tears at having to start elsewhere... It's a lot for a four-year-old'

Press and Journal

17-05-2025

Hannah Park only recently got her four-year-old daughter Thea settled at Ballogie Nursery.
After months of tears, the timid tot finally built up her confidence and now loves meeting up with her wee pals there.
But Hannah fears that her daughter is in for some emotional upheaval as Aberdeenshire Council mothballs the Deeside facility.
Parents like Hannah are now banding together in a desperate crusade to keep Ballogie Nursery open.
The village lies south of the River Dee, nestled between Aboyne and Banchory.
And its beloved nursery is one of four rural buildings set to be mothballed in July.
As well as Ballogie, Crossroads, Glass and Sandhaven are are all on the chopping block.
Just before the Easter holidays, parents were hit with the 'devastating' news that its 13 children would have to go somewhere else.
The Save Ballogie Nursery campaign was set up to stop the nursery from being permanently closed.
I returned to Ballogie Nursery for the first time since I left it at the age of five, almost 20 years ago, to speak with these families.
Little Thea was meant to return to Ballogie Nursery in August for one more year.
However, the youngster is one of many who will be forced to start completely afresh this summer.
And for many kids, this will be a tough change to go through.
Mum Hannah tells me that it took time for Thea to build up her confidence and settle into nursery.
And now it seems she will have no choice but to go through it all again.
'Its horrible when your child is crying and you walk away from them,' Hannah confides.
'She is doing brilliantly, and I feel really really sad about the fact that she now has to go through that whole process of resettling again.
'It's a complete unknown for her. You are asking her to walk into a completely new building, with completely new staff and with completely new children.
'It's a lot for a four-year-old.'
Just like dozens of parents, Hannah tells me that she faces the uncertainty of not knowing how long it will Thea to resettle into her new nursery when she starts at Banchory in a few months.
'It's still going to require an adjustment period, there will still be those tears… How long it lasts I don't know, the degree of it I don't know.
'The email dropped right before Easter holidays, there was no discussion of the impact on families.
'The council knew in February but still allowed parents to choose Ballogie as their preferred nursery in March, it's dreadful.'
Worried about the youngsters being dispersed, she adds: 'Some may transition well and some may really struggle. We won't know how Thea will be until we get there.
'I am sure she will build those connections eventually, but how long will that take?'
Mum Olivia Akkerman has been left feeling 'nervous' for next year.
She tells me that she specifically chose the nursery because 'the education has such a good reputation'.
Olivia says her son Philip loves the nursery, with the youngster even asking her what day of the week it is and 'what day he will be going back to Ballogie'.
Dad Duncan Caird feels 'really disappointed' with the news.
'It's a great little community here and just the opportunity to play and just be children without any stress is brilliant,' he tells me.
Duncan's eldest son Magnus is currently at the nursery, but due to start at Finzean Primary School after the summer holidays.
However, Duncan tells me that the plan was for younger sister Evelyn and baby George to follow in the footsteps of their big brother.
And younger sister Evelyn likes it there already…
'Evelyn loves it, she comes and helps to pick Magnus up,' Duncan smiles.
'Unfortunately, she won't get that opportunity to come to Ballogie Nursery now.'
Katie Rankin, who is from Aboyne, said she specifically chose the nursery because of the small size – the very factor council moneymen are now using to shutter it.
Her son Ruben is another youngster who loves the nursery.
She tells me: 'One size does not fit all, it's the individual kids needs. Some need smaller settings and can thrive a lot better. That's the main reason we chose Ballogie.
'The teachers here are brilliant, they're so caring for the kids and you have that individual feedback every time you pick them up… They know your kid.'
It was at the nursery that Ruben found out he needed glasses. While the lad was daunted by a trip to the hospital, Ballogie staff decided to help him embrace the change.
They made it a 'big theme for the week', making him much less nervous. And they even gave him a book as a reward for being so brave.
Abby Nicol tells me her concerns about the impact closing Ballogie Nursery will have on this tightknit rural community.
'How are you going to get younger people into rural communities if you don't have childcare provision? It's just fundamental,' she tells me in the busy playground.
Abby tells me that her 30-year-old brother came to the nursery as a child, and made his best friend there.
She continued: 'If there's not a school or primary school here, families won't be moving here.
'To close something so integral to our community, literally the heart of the community, is horrendous.'
Wendy Milne, is from Finzean and Mum to Isla and Harry.
Isla will start at Finzean Primary School after the summer holidays, but younger brother Harry was due to start at Ballogie Nursery in January.
'I cried so much when I heard the news, it was just such a shock,' Wendy tells me.
'Ballogie feels like a second home for the kids rather than putting them to a nursery.
'It just feels like you are getting crucified for living rural.
'Financially we had planned for me to go back to work more next year and that might not be possible now.'
A spokesperson for Aberdeenshire Council said the authority 'appreciated' closing a nursery could be 'a shock to parents and carers, as well as the wider community'.
But they added: 'Our decision to mothball/deactivate Ballogie has been thoroughly considered to ensure the quality and sustainability of services and the most efficient use of public money.
'Mothballing/deactivating is a temporary closure… At this stage there is no proposal to permanently close these settings.'
We explained the process in mothballing schools and nurseries, which has to follow certain rules.