Play group to protest withdrawal of venue

The Tomahawk Toddlers Playgroup will vent its frustration at Tomahawk School this morning after the school withdrew its facilities as a venue for the group.

There was hope the protest could be averted when the school offered its dental clinic as an alternative venue last night.

But play group co-president Anna Hughes said the protest would continue as planned.

Ms Hughes said the play group had effectively been shut down because the school's board of trustees would no longer allow the group to use the school's library for its two-hour weekly sessions.

The volunteer play group, of about 12 families, had been operating out of the school for nearly six years, and was registered with the Ministry of Education, she said.

The school recently applied to the Ministry of Education for voluntary closure because of declining rolls.

While there are no children enrolled at the school in 2010, it is still officially open, with paid employees including the principal, secretary and cleaner.

However, a letter sent to the play group last week from the school's board of trustees chairwoman, Audrey Harbrow, stated the school was in a "closing-down process" and "all spaces around the school are now unavailable for use".

The letter was a reiteration of an earlier letter sent in November last year, which informed the group members they needed to remove their resources by March 17, and any materials left on school grounds would be forfeited to the school and sold to cover costs.

The letter has angered members of the play group, Ms Hughes said.

"Principal Richard Aitken stated on Campbell Live, TV3, that currently he is at school on full salary with `nothing to do', and yet he refuses to be present so the Tomahawk Toddlers Playgroup can operate once a week for two hours."

But Mr Aitken said the issue had nothing to do with his availability at the school.

He said the library and classrooms at the school were no longer available for use because school assets - such as furniture, sporting equipment and gardening and grounds-maintenance gear - had to be moved from an "unsecured storage shed" into the classrooms and library, which were protected by security alarms.

"The classrooms and library are all full," he said.

Ministry of Education Early Childhood and Regional Education deputy secretary Rawiri Brell said the ministry had advised Tomahawk Toddlers Playgroup to continue working with Tomahawk School, and has asked the school board to reconsider their earlier decision and allow the play group to continue to use the premises.