Pathfinder local authorities are testing innovative ways to extend the entitlement to free nursery education for three- and four-year-olds to 15 hours a week and deliver it flexibly to parents from next April. Judging by their experiences, the timescale is tight, funding problematic and there are serious practical implications for schools.
Perhaps the most delicate part of this process is the commitment to create a level playing field between the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) and maintained sectors. 'Proposals seeking to transfer funding from the maintained to the PVI sector are proving a major area of negotiation and development,' one local authority reveals.
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