The Government's roll-out of 300 school-based nurseries at a cost of £37 million has been in the headlines. The Early Years Alliance has launched a Freedom of Information request to clarify the impact on the PVI sector and whether it will either force out settings or negatively impact them. Old wounds are being reopened between the maintained and private, voluntary and independent sector, and there is an understandable feeling of unease around the policy.
It was great to be invited to the Nursery World Business Summit in March. The one big takeaway for me was the lack of a single coherent body that represents the needs of the entire sector. Policies like school-based childcare are divisive and there is a danger of being split, having to compete against each other, for places or for funding.
It is important to note that these changes are being imposed on the sector. There have long been differences between the PVI and maintained sectors (both in status and funding), but I don't think this should be our starting point. The place to start is the common ground, the shared values. It is solution-based and so is more likely to work. With imposed change, there is a danger that we may start from the wrong point.
Labour's plan for school-based nurseries should not come as a real surprise, they are the party of the state and so believe in a maintained nursery sector. What is potentially disastrous is ignoring those who are already expert in the area of offering an all-year service to the youngest children and babies.
The policy does not appreciate that schools are not experts in early years education and care; it could be argued that they do not prioritise it highly enough. They do not understand how to run an all-year service or one that is open for at least ten hours a day. They don't appreciate the complexities of staff rotas, annual leave or the many other administrative intricacies that surround a sessional service.
High-quality nurseries are not like schools, it isn't a one-size-fits-all model. The area in which schools lack knowledge should be the place this discussion starts, otherwise a huge amount of expertise is potentially lost.
As an entire sector we need to recognise our common ground. What we all have in common is vast, but like all good partnerships, it must start with trust, take place in a safe space and be clear about what it is trying to achieve.
