Playgroups are community-based, and staffed and managed by people within the community they serve. Many staff are paid only for the hours worked with children and often at minimum wage.
Playgroups need a new funding system which recognises the amount of work they put in and encourages them to register for the nursery education grant.
Tomorrow's Children, an independent review published by the Department for Education and Employment in September 1999, recommended 'support and development funding'. This has to a large extent been put in place through the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships. It also recommended continuous revenue funding directly to playgroups that met quality standards, which the Government appears to have ignored.
Revenue funding could replace the nursery education grant and take a wider view of playgroup services. It could have three elements: * A child element based on the age of the child, payable at a fixed rate depending on the number of children attending each term. It could include all children not just three- and four-year-olds.
* A place element, reviewed annually, allocated according to the planned number of children expected during the year, payable termly at the beginning of term, to provide some stability.
* A strategic element to support the development of services that contribute to local strategic priorities, including staff qualifications levels, the level of deprivation in an area, family support services or wraparound provision.
This does not suggest that parents should not pay towards their childcare but it would mean playgroups could be freed of the problems caused by fluctuating levels of income from term to term. They could also pay staff more realistic wages, keeping good workers.
I believe this would support the Government's targets for developing childcare services and raise the quality of provision throughout the country. It would show there is genuine support for those playgroups that provide a quality service to their local community.
