The Government says it is committed to a more equitable and transparent system for funding the free early years entitlement. A table on the DCSF website powerfully illustrates the case for levelling the playing field between the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) and the maintained sectors.
But the table, which shows that most PVI providers receive much less per pupil, reveals such a yawning gap in some councils that it is bound to fuel scepticism over whether a single formula covering all sectors can be reached by 2010-2011.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, says, 'The table shows the disparity not just between the PVI and maintained sectors, but across local authorities. It is almost a postcode lottery, depending on where you live.'
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