JOBS are at risk at Atlantic Academy on Portland, after a public consultation was started over the potential closure of some of its extra-curricular services.

Parents were told in a letter that the academy, part of Aspirations Academies Trust, is consulting on a proposal to close its Atlantic Allstars and nursery provision.

Atlantic Allstars is a breakfast and after school club that provided for children from Reception up to Year 6.

The letter suggests that the Allstars club and the nursery provision were making an "unsustainable significant loss" due to a decline in the number of children using the services.

According to the letter, a "situation of market saturation" has been caused by eight nursery providers on Portland competing with a declining birth rate in the area over the past two years.

A statement from Atlantic Academy said: "The current provision is running at a financial deficit and analysis undertaken in advance of opening the consultation indicated a surplus of this type of provision in the local area.

"Three permanent employees would potentially be affected if the provision closes, however all these staff members would be offered the opportunity to be redeployed to other posts within the academy. Three other staff on temporary or casual worker contracts would also be affected in the event of closure and the Academy will continue to review their position.

"We see an opportunity to work more closely with two other local nursery providers and potentially it may be possible for them to use the many facilities Atlantic Academy has to offer. We are confident that by working in closer partnership with these other providers we can avoid any significant detrimental impact on the children and families currently using Atlantic's provision. Nevertheless, we will carefully consider any concerns raised during the consultation prior to making a final decision on the matter."

The consultation runs to Monday, May 20. Comments and questions can be sent to consultation@atlantic-aspirations.org