Of the plethora of policies and initiatives launched by the Government over the past 11 years or so, neighbourhood nurseries have to be the daftest. The three-year funding scheme to set up affordable daycare settings in deprived areas was always doomed to fail, because in many cases, the nurseries are just not sustainable once the funding runs out.
The initiative was soon superseded by children's centres, but the fall-out is really beginning now. Turn to page 6 for three news stories involving neighbourhood nurseries that are closing, under threat or being taken over. Private providers who have invested a lot of their own money as well as the grants are finding that they cannot carry on without parents being able to pay full fees. Council-run settings are costing the taxpayer too much to justify continued existence.
How much money has been wasted on the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative?
A WELCOME VICTORY
Children's minister Beverley Hughes may not be able to dispel all the fears of some childminders about the forthcoming EYFS, but her announcement of a rethink on the proposed huge rises in Ofsted registration fees will provide at least some relief (see News, page 4).
For nurseries and pre-schools too, there is a welcome sense that at least one financial pressure has been lessened, as the proposed changes were quite draconian. The concession can be viewed as a reward for lobbying hard and shouting loudly during the consultation, albeit one that the Government sees as relatively affordable.
Now they just need to sort out equitable funding for the Nursery Education Grant!
