A MUM from Springside says she may have to quit her job after her daughter was placed in a nursery two buses from her home.

That was despite the mother's first choice early years centre, in Springside, being "right at our feet".

The frustrated parent, who asked to remain anonymous, brought her concerns to the Times after her daughter was not afforded a place at any of her top three choices of nursery.

She explained: “I registered my daughter for nursery two weeks ago. I live in Springside so that was my choice of nursery.

“We also had to give another two places so I had put down the closest two schools to my house, which was Dreghorn and Elderbank.

 “Last week we got an email from North Ayrshire Council saying my daughter would go to Marress nursery, which is two buses away from my house."

Immediately after being informed of this, the mum says she looked to find a resolution - only to find out she was not alone.

She continued: “I tried calling education about 20 times to reject this offer as they had only given me a week to accept due to the closing date.

“I managed to get help from the parent council to hold a meeting with the local councillor, as by then I heard everyone that had applied for Springside Nursery that lived there didn’t get a place."

It has left the anxious parent in limbo, as she raised concerns whether it was even feasible to take her daughter to the Marress facility - which is yet to open after delays set the new centre back to August this year.

She added: “By this time I was getting furious. I am a single parent and they’re expecting me to pay two buses a day.

“I only work part-time. I cannot afford any more. They are meant to be supporting families to go out and work.

“I may have to give up my work because of them. It’s just a pure disgrace they’re expecting people to get two buses for your little one to go to nursery when we basically have a school right at our feet.”

North Ayrshire Council said they "sympathise" with the woman, but that cuts agreed earlier this year to the authority's early years service had affected the placement process.

We reported earlier this year that a council "re-design" of the service could see as many as 90 roles lost within early years centres.

READ MORE: Concerns raised as North Ayrshire Council to 'cut 90 early years centre jobs'

They also stated that there are no catchment areas for nurseries, hence no guarantee that children will be offered a place at their nearest school.

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “We sympathise with this resident’s position and if she wishes to contact us we would be happy to discuss her situation further.

“Parents and carers will be aware of necessary changes to our early learning and childcare service.

“In line with the picture across Scotland, the uptake of early learning and childcare places in North Ayrshire is lower than previously anticipated and declining birth rates will continue to impact the overall level of uptake.

“The revised early learning and childcare delivery models take into consideration the local demand for places, affordability and the views of North Ayrshire families who currently - or will soon - access this service.

“Applications for early years places for the next academic year, 2024-25, have now taken place in line with our education directorate’s policies and procedures.

“Unlike schools, early years establishments do not have catchment areas and places are allocated - once priority banding is taken into consideration - where space is available.”