In My View - Standing firm on fees

It stresses the obligation on nurseries to offer places to parents free of charge, with no 'top-up' fees. The Government has also said that from April 2011, local authorities are obliged to introduce the Early Years Single Funding Formula, which must include a compulsory deprivation supplement.

As the owner of a private nursery I understand that costs must be covered. But parents should not be required to pay top-up fees for the free entitlement. Nurseries are there to provide childcare, but more importantly to support children to learn and develop. Nurseries are particularly effective in maintaining trusting relationships with hard-to-reach families, and those in deprived areas are vital in giving an excellent start to children's learning journey and helping to reduce inequality. Parents who are living on benefits or on a low income are simply not in a financial position to pay top-up fees. Under the new Code of Practice, additional hours over the 15-hour free entitlement can be charged at any level. In nurseries which cater more for full-time working parents on a decent income, profit can come from these additional hours.

I hope that Michael Gove and Sarah Teather resist calls to relax the rules on charging top-up fees in the future and that they ensure the continuation of a deprivation supplement in the EYSFF. Nurseries and organisations who speak for them must continue to call for adequate levels of funding to ensure costs are covered to a level that staff are paid at least a living wage for the vital job they do. I am fully in favour of the drive for Graduate Leadership in nurseries. I gained Early Years Professional Status three years ago, which I feel contributed to my setting receiving an 'outstanding' Ofsted judgement last month. Paying graduate level staff is not cheap, however, and a compulsory quality supplement in the EYSFF would be welcome to contribute towards these increased wage costs.