Parents angry at Camden Council's reduced holiday playscheme hours at Weedington Road Playcentre

Published: 21 October, 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

CAMDEN Council has been accused of unfairly penalising working parents after it reduced the hours offered by a holiday playscheme in Queen’s Crescent.

The Weedington Road Playcentre has traditionally offered holiday activities for children between 9am and 5pm – providing valuable childcare for working parents during school breaks. 

But the service has been now cut and will only operate between 11am and 4pm over the autumn half-term holiday.

A spokeswoman for the council said the hours have been cut due to lack of demand, but angry parents have contacted the New Journal over the changes.

“Working parents rely on being able to send their children there all day,” one parent said. 

“There was no consultation about this and we only found out when we went to book our places. My child is not going to be able to go now and we will have to try and find a place somewhere else.”

The spokeswoman said: “The centre normally offers two services that operate alongside each other during school holi­days – a core day that runs from 11am to 4pm and provides structured play activities and an extended day that provides a full-day childcare service to working parents. 

“Whilst demand for the core day is good, demand for the extended day was very low over the summer holiday. 

“It is not financially viable in the long-term to run a service for such numbers.”