Nursery World - Nursery plan rallies early years sector

Early years organisations and nursery chains have been invited by the Government to create up to 900 'Neighbourhood Nurseries' in disadvantaged parts of England over the next three years. As part of the Pounds 300m initiative, the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) plans to open nine regional 'centres of excellence' which will bring together under one roof various childcare providers including childminding networks and training resources. The Jigsaw Group nursery chain said it intended to open 50 new nurseries during the three years under the scheme.

As part of the 300m initiative, the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) plans to open nine regional 'centres of excellence' which will bring together under one roof various childcare providers including childminding networks and training resources. The Jigsaw Group nursery chain said it intended to open 50 new nurseries during the three years under the scheme.

The initiative is to involve early years providers, banks, community organisations, parents and employers, following consultation. The Government intends to make available up to 100m of lottery money from the New Opportunities Fund for grants for new or refurbished premises. This will be on top of 203m of start-up grants through the Department for Education and Employment over the next three years. An additional 55m of New Opportunities Fund money has been earmarked for start-up places for about 50,000 out-of-school childcare places in disadvantaged areas of England.

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