West Dunbartonshire Council this week confirmed it will consult parents about its proposal to put Linnvale Early Learning and Child Care Centre under the stewardship of the Linnvale primary head teacher.

The move would, the local authority says, put an end to years of instability at the centre which sits within the grounds of Linnvale Primary.

But the centre’s current availability of 47 places in the morning and afternoon will be slashed to 20 as part of the plan.

Chris Smith, of the council’s education department told councillors at last week’s education services committee meeting: “We have had a number of centre heads over a period of time and that has been unsettling. The numbers have dropped. It is registered for 47 in the morning and afternoon but we were at 27 in the morning and 19 in the afternoon at the time of writing the report, and we are down a wee bit on that now.

“We feel the 20/20 availability meets the demand in that area because we have capacity in Whitecrook.” She added: “There’s still space at the school so we would have provision to up that if we needed to and if demand in the area was to change.” The shake-up will see the council save around £40,000 a year, but education bosses say the proposal is not motivated by finances. They say benefits to the children include access to a teacher, a better fit with the curriculum for excellence and an easier transition into P1.

The proposal would see the nursery moved to sit next to the P1 class to allow increased interaction between the two units.

A formal consultation will begin on January 12, 2015 and run for a minimum of six weeks. It will include a public meeting at Linnvale Primary School on Wednesday, January 28 at 7pm.

If approved, the changes would come into effect in August 2015.