SHE just wants to provide a better life for her three-year-old son Anthony.
But single mum Christy Laux says her dreams of going to university could be shattered if Kirklees College’s nursery is axed.
Christy, from Holmfirth, said that if the First Class Nursery at Portland Street in Huddersfield closes, she and handfuls of other parents would be left without any childcare and would have to quit their college courses.
The 23-year-old said: “The nursery received an ‘outstanding’ report from Ofsted and I think it’s criminal that it should face possible closure.
“If it wasn’t for the nursery I wouldn’t have been able to attend college and my dreams of attending university would slowly disappear.’’
Shocked parents were informed at a public meeting last year that the nursery was financially unsustainable.
College representatives told them that unless the nursery was able to generate a surplus it faces the risk of closure in summer 2012.
Currently it is under review.
Parents of children at the nursery are means tested and some receive free places while others have to pay.
Christy, whose partner died in a car accident, said: “I am just trying to make something of my life. I don’t want to be categorised as one of those single mums that don’t do anything.
“It may be hard but everyone has got choices and options.
“Nurseries such as this give mums like me an opportunity to better themselves, study and get a good job. I want my son to be proud of me.”
Christy said the nursery’s location, across the road from the college, enables mums and dads to pop over and feed their children at lunch times.
The student of health and social care said: “There’s a lot of mums in my position.
“When I started studying here I thought I would be the odd one out, but I couldn’t believe how many mums there were studying here with their kids at the nursery.
“At lunchtimes we go over to the nursery to feed our children because the nursery can’t afford to supply them with a hot meal anymore.
“It’s no problem whatsoever to me to come over and feed him, especially if it means that he’s at nursery being looked after and learning while I’m studying.
“There are many mums who are and have been fortunate enough to have their child attend this excellent nursery and consequently achieve qualifications that they would otherwise not be able to gain.”
According to the latest Ofsted report, the nursery caters for some 120 children.
In July last year nineteen members of staff were made redundant – nearly half the workforce.
College bosses said the facility would be monitored until summer 2012 when a decision would be made on its future.
