I am a staff member at the Thomas Coram nursery school and centre (Coram charity accused of ‘throttling by stealth’ nursery it helped create, 16 July). My colleagues and I are deeply invested in the campaign to try to save the nursery school and I am so furious with the defence that Coram has given for its actions that I felt I had to write.
I have worked at the nursery for nine years, four when it first opened and then again for the last five as part of the senior leadership team. It is a unique and wonderful place that has served thousands of children in need.
Coram has argued that it needs to raise our rent to unaffordable levels of hundreds of thousands of pounds, and reduce classroom space on the grounds that it is a charity that is obliged to maximise income. But the fact that it is a charity is the point. It has a charitable object: “the provision maintenance and conduct of day nurseries, nursery schools, open spaces and other establishments and facilities for and in connection with the education and welfare of children in need.”
Coram set up the nursery in partnership with Camden to fulfil its own objectives. Perhaps it is planning to change that objective to something like “to make as much money as possible by building offices”, which seems to better reflect its current position. But I wonder how popular that would be with potential donors?
Coram seems to have forgotten that it was entrusted with its site in King’s Cross to carry out the work of providing service, specifically nursery provision for vulnerable children, not to exploit it as a piece of prime real estate.
Many of the nursery staff have been horrified by Coram’s actions because they thought of themselves as part of Coram, working together with the same objective. We only hope that the trustees rethink and that we can all continue working to support some of our most vulnerable children and families.
Jan Stillaway
Deputy headteacher and special educational needs and disabilities coordinator, Thomas Coram centre and nursery school
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