A PLAYGROUP that has used a former church school for almost 60 years has been given notice to quit.
First Steps Playgroup has occupied the Old School Hall in Barlestone, Leicestershire, but its tenancy will not be extended, because the building is to be sold on the advice of the the diocesan board of education.
Trustees for the Barlestone Church of England School Charity, which owns the property “in the said Ecclesiastical Parish of St Giles, Barlestone”, have acted on advice from Leicester Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) for the property to be sold, because it “requires considerable investment to maintain”.
A statement from the trustees said: “We were under the impression that by renting to First Steps playgroup, who teach Christian values, we were meeting one of our charitable objectives in that it met the need to use the premises for religious education. Unfortunately we have discovered that this does not actually meet the charity’s brief.”
In the charity’s governing document, which the diocese of Leicester has consulted, educational use of the building must be “within the principles and practices of the Church of England”. There was no explicit Church of England governance or leadership in place at the playgroup, or any specifically Anglican character to its curriculum and operations, the diocese concluded.
An employee at First Steps Playgroup confirmed this week that the nursery must vacate the old school premises “by the Easter holidays”. There was, they said, a degree of local sadness because “generations of the local community have come here and been involved with our activities”.
A charity itself, First Steps currently has 41 children on its books, along with four members of staff. Its registered income for the year ending July 2022 was £137,545.
A spokesperson for the Leicester DBE said: “The diocese of Leicester does not own the Old School Hall building in Barlestone, but [we] are working with the local trustees to support and advise in the management of the charity.
“The DBE advised the trustees that the current use by the playgroup, though commendable, does not meet its charitable objects and has encouraged alternative arrangements to be made. While the DBE recognises the important contribution that the playgroup makes to the village, given that the old school building requires considerable investment to maintain, the advice is that selling the building would be the most straightforward option.
“In line with the charity’s stipulations, any funds raised from the sale of the building would be used to support children and young people in Barlestone directly.”