SIR,

I wanted to bring to your attention the fact that Monmouth Community Under Fives will close for good on Friday 23rd August.

I also wanted to thank Sue and Angela and staff past and present for providing a caring, nurturing and supportive environment for my children over the years.

I'm sure there are many others who, like me, feel lucky to have had their influence in our children's lives.

I also feel compelled to reiterate that in a time when education in Monmouthshire has developed a less than desirable reputation, the county cannot afford to lose excellent providers such as MCU5.

When Liz Hackett Pain and Liz Humphrys took the decision to withdraw Early Years Funding from the group and turf them out of their building so the council could use it for their own purposes, they demonstrated a lack of understanding both of the availability and accessibility of quality childcare in Monmouth, and a lack of respect for the wishes of us as parents.

It is a testament to MCU5 that parents like me were prepared to support the group and continued to pay to send our children there when I am sure we were expected to channel our children elsewhere.

Thanks to Bridges for providing a great home for the group. What a shame that we, as a community, are losing them.

I can only hope that the expertise of the staff can be used elsewhere to continue to benefit Monmouth.

Luisa Lee-Smith

(Monmouth)