Philip Bujak said he had hoped that the move towards greater freedom for schools would be extended to the under-fives and was disappointed that the sector had been 'overlooked'.
'We had hoped that "free schools" would extend down to nursery level,' he said. 'What is there for the nursery sector? The focal point should be at the start.'
He said that the plans seemed to suggest a view that 'education doesn't start until you're five'.
Government plans to allow parents to apply for state funding to open their own schools do not extend to letting parents open their own nursery schools, and the invitation for primary schools to become academies does not include maintained nursery schools.
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