Quite frankly, if the Government calls the shots and insists on settingsoffering free entitlement, then they should be liable for reimbursingevery provider with the money that is lost.
According to the Federation of Small Businesses, there was no properconsultation process to assess the impact of the Code of Practice on thePVI sector. Maybe nurseries should sue the Government for loss ofincome. The amount of money I stand to lose (around 5,000 a term)will impact immensely on the services I provide. It could involve staffredundancies and lack of funds to provide new materials, equipment andtraining, or else I work for nothing.
None of these options are viable or acceptable, bearing in mind that theGovernment wants every nursery to offer high-quality provision withwell-qualified staff. How do they expect us to achieve that on a reducedincome? My fees are my only income - we are not eligible for grants ofany kind to help cover our expenses - so for me it would be impossibleto maintain the high-quality provision I offer and suffer extreme lossessimultaneously.
Unless the funding paid to nurseries by local authorities matches theamount they stand to lose, nurseries should seriously consider optingout of the system altogether.
I have faith in parents' judgement that they can recognise a qualitynursery and they will continue to use our services, whether we arefunded or not. If there were considerably fewer free places availableand the Government was unable to meet its target, then the ministersresponsible for this unjust policy might finally realise why free placesare diminishing and address the problem fairly.
- Debbie Palmer, The Village Montessori Nursery, Theydon Bois, Essex.
