Nursery World - Nursery owners complain about the extra red tape

New Government guidance for local authorities on the free entitlement for early education is intended to cut red tape, but Nursery World has heard that some local authorities are imposing even more stringent conditions on private and voluntary nurseries.

Last month the Department for Education published new statutory guidance for local authorities on the delivery of three-and four-year-old places, which at 20 pages was half the length of the 2010 code and was meant to be less prescriptive.

But one nursery owner, who did not wish to be named, has made a formal complaint to his local authority about what he says are 'unreasonable conditions' that are being imposed on providers from September. He said he was given just nine days to sign and return the agreement and that his local authority did not consult early years providers about the new terms for delivering the free entitlement.

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