Future now bright for fire-hit nursery

LOOKING UP: Janet Clegg (left) and Beverley Greenwood, of Moorside Pre-School and Nursery, with Jasmine Hardman (front, left), Ryan Slater, Lucy Walton and Kieran McAndrews

A TODDLERS’ group will rise like a phoenix from the ashes after support from the Moorside community and a refit by Oldham Council.

Moorside Pre-School and Nursery in Haven Lane was seriously damaged when vandals hurled a children’s slide through a back window and set fire to blinds and window frames.

The building is owned by Oldham Council and the business belongs to Janet Clegg.

She was waiting for new security fencing to be fitted after four other vandal attacks this year.

But Janet, who has been at the site for 15 years, has now heard that it will be erected in the next two weeks. The nursery will also get a refit with a grant of several thousand pounds from the council’s Early Years service.

The local community has also rallied round and provided money, equipment and help. Despite the fire and smoke damage, it was able to reopen after only a week.

Janet said: “Out of something bad has come a lot of good.

“We had nothing in here, everything had either melted or was damaged by smoke, and when we reopened the children had to sit on mats.

“Now we have chairs and tables lent by Hodge Clough School, Tesco has given us toys, blankets, gardening equipment and sand and water play toys.

“The Village pub in Moorside has been fundraising, Tommy Cone, the millionaire who has helped us before, gave £1,000 and we have had lots of help from parents and grandparents. They came in to clean for us and gave us their time.

“Then we heard from the council that we will get a capital grant for new windows, a new bathroom, office, and a kitchen area.”

The nursery has 40 children on its roll at the moment, but can take 52.

Janet said some children were worried about the fire when the building reopened after the arson attack, but most of them were more concerned about the pre-school rabbits, Summer and Sky.

She added: “They were under the window which was attacked. Everything had melted around them but somehow they survived.”.