Nursery World - Strapped for cash

With the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative completed, providers may find it harder to access financial help, says Simon Vevers Many private providers secured capital and revenue funding under the Government's Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative (NNI) to create childcare places in disadvantaged areas.

Many private providers secured capital and revenue funding under the Government's Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative (NNI) to create childcare places in disadvantaged areas.

With the initiative now completed and the remaining neighbourhood nurseries due to open this year, Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP) business support officers continue to advise providers on how to create viable operations, but have to tell them that funding options have been reduced and those that remain often have complicated strings attached.

Bolton EYDCP was instrumental in setting up 12 neighbourhood nurseries, including five privately-owned facilities (see box). But business support officer Paul Whitney says, 'Now NNI money is no longer there it is quite a shock. We still get phone calls asking about funds, but there is nothing like it on the horizon. We have got small amounts of money for things like sustainability, but it's not going to help somebody build a nursery in the way NNI did.'

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