Aberdeenshire Council has agreed to pause the mothballing of four rural nurseries.
Parents were told in April that Ballogie, Crossroads, Glass and Sandhaven nurseries would close at the end of term.
Councillors have now agreed to put those decisions on hold while it reviews its guidance around how it consults with families.
Campaigners have welcomed the move, but said they had lost confidence in the local authority.
At a special meeting of the full council, councillors agreed to pause all future mothballing – which means closing premises but keeping them in a condition ready for future use – while a review of guidance was carried out.
During the meeting, councillors on the local authority's ruling administration decided not to allow members of the public to give their views.
Campaigner and parent Lindsay Love told BBC Scotland News: ''We all came hoping to speak on behalf of our communities and we were silenced.'''
She said she had mixed emotions about the decision to pause mothballing.
Ms Love said: ''I'm nervous that they are actually going to move forward with integrity. I feel like they're trying to control the narrative now.
"We just need to make sure that we're protecting our nurseries and our rural communities as best as we can."
She added: "Whilst is it a good thing that they've decided to pause the mothballing, I don't have a huge amount of confidence in them as an institution to do the right thing.''
