IT WAS a poignant day at Rainbows Pre-School in Okehampton on Wednesday last week (July 17) when the pre-school held their last session before closing their doors for good.

The occasion was marked with a tea party for the children and a cake along with the presentation of bouquets to members of staff.

Parents also attended the final morning session for the remaining 11 children at the pre-school, which has been winding down since May half-term.

Pre-school leaders Victoria Evans and Wendy Porter said they were ‘very sad’ at having to close the pre-school run by not-for-profit organisation Community Links, after being unable to balance the books.

’We didn’t want to close,’ said Victoria. ‘It was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make. We wanted to go out on a high, though, we have an Ofsted “good” rating at the moment and we didn’t want to get to the point where we had to close.

‘The amount of money we get from the local authority doesn’t match the running costs so it doesn’t add up unfortunately. This is a decision we have had to make.’

The pre-school takes a lot of children from vulnerable and low income families, which Victoria said meant breaking even impossible as they were reliant on state funding.

‘The issue is there’s a gap between the amount we get from the Government and what we would charge if the children were paying,’ she said. ‘It is a large gap and it doesn’t cover the running costs.’

The pre-school, which was on a site next to Okehampton College, has been running in the town for more than 30 years.

Since May half-term the sessions have been cut from four to three and only the oldest children, set to go to school in September, have been kept on until the end of term.

‘We want to thank the parents for being so understanding,’ said Wendy. ‘They have been supporting us and have cared about us. We are losing our jobs but we couldn’t be selfish. We had to do what is best for the children.’