Nursery World - Nurseries' funding for low-income families is cut in half

At least five community nurseries in the London borough of Hackney are facing cuts of up to 50 per cent in their funding for places for families on low incomes.

Many of them provide a large number of places that are subsidised by the Learning Trust, which runs education in the borough. Nursery World has learned that the nurseries that appear to be affected are the ones offering a large proportion of their places for poor families.

One Hackney nursery manager, who did not wish to be named, said she received a letter last week confirming that from April, the nursery would be receiving the equivalent of a drop of more than 50 per cent in funding for places commissioned by the Learning Trust.

She said, 'We could close within a year. We're in a deprived area and the majority of our parents have subsidised childcare. We can't make any cuts to our staffing because we're at the minimum and the nursery education grant doesn't cover our costs. Previously the Learning Trust would subsidise us for 25 hours a week per child, now they're only going to subsidise us for 15 hours a week.'

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