Nursery World - Providers' failure to provide detailed costs leaves DfE in the dark

Most of the providers who responded to the Government’s call for evidence on funded places did not give figures, leaving the Department for Education unable to understand the costs of providing free hours.

In a report analysing the responses, the DfE said that the ‘quality and completeness’ of the evidence was wide-ranging.

As Nursery World has reported, nursery owners have criticised the process for being confusing and flawed.

No specific questions were asked, leaving nurseries unclear as to what detailed information was required.

The Government’s analysis of the responses has found that this lack of detail means that the DfE is still unclear as to the true cost to providers of offering the places.

While most responses listed factors viewed by providers as the main areas of expenditure, the report said, ‘these were often not supported by figures. This means that we have been unable to understand which costs are a result of delivering the entitlement and which are not. This may indicate a lack of clarity around what Government funding should pay for.’

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