Nursery World - Sheffield nursery schools hit by funding shortfalls

One of Sheffield's three remaining council-run nursery schools is to merge with a primary school and the future of the other two is unclear because of a lack of funding.

Birley Community Nursery School will be merged with Birley Primary School in Sheffield if councillors agree to the proposals next week.

The amalgamation of the nursery and primary school will see the number of full-time nursery places fall from 78 to 52, a move which the council says will ensure the setting is viable.

Without the merger the council claims that Birley Nursery School will have run up a deficit of around £405,000 by 2014.

The two other council run nursery-schools, Grace Owen Nursery School and Broomhall Nursery School and Children’s Centre, which recently celebrated its 80^th anniversary, are currently under review.

The council claims that the introduction of the Early Years Single Funding Formula, which is based on the number of children attending a setting rather than the number of places offered, has resulted in a significant reduction in the level of funding for the nursery schools.

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