TOTS, toddlers, mothers and fathers descended en masse to Elm C of E Primary School on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of their new nursery.

Elm School Nursery comes as a relief to Elm’s parents and youngsters who saw the closure of the previous pre-school in December 2011.

Although the local authority helped parents find alternative places some have had to travel further afield or organise private childcare for the last nine months.

Fiona McCallum, head teacher at Elm Primary School said: “It’s been buzzing all day. We think we must have had about 60 families.

“When the old pre-school closed it was really sad. It’s good that something has come out of this for the community.”

“We think it’s going to be very valuable. It’ll provide a great start to kids aged 0-5.”

The day of celebration included visits from Wisbech fire station firefighters, face-painting plus the toddler’s traditional bouncy castle.

Asked what the kid’s favourite was, Ms McCallum said: “Peppa Pig was top of the list. The kids absolutely loved the lady dressed in a full-size costume.”

The school organised a room full of local services for parents including speech and language therapists, early support workers, youth workers, librarians and representatives from Roddons Housing Association and the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Ms McCallum said: “There’s a huge number of services out there and if parents know it’s there they can tap into it.

“We’re already nearly full in the morning so we’re really chuffed it’s going so well.”