The Alliance polled 700 member settings to gauge attitudes to the EYSFF, which aims to create equitable funding for the free nursery education entitlement for threeand four-year-olds. Only 14 per cent of respondents said they predict an increase, while 32 per cent expect a reduction.
Nearly half of respondents said that they will have no choice but to increase fees for parents.
The findings also raise doubts about how nurseries will cope when the free entitlement is extended from 12.5 hours to 15 hours in September.
Speaking at the Alliance's annual conference and AGM last week, Judith Thompson, chair of the board of trustees, told delegates that the method of gathering data for the EYSFF was essentially flawed.
She said, 'When you operate in the marketplace as a setting, this is business-sensitive information, and it was not gathered by an independent body but by local authorities who themselves provide childcare places. This made settings wary of providing this information, so that the data collected was an insecure basis for decision.'
On the subject of qualifications, Ms Thompson raised applause when she said, 'The PLA would deplore any attempt to fund higher salaries for practitioners by increasing the number of children to each adult in the setting. No matter how qualified or experienced, one practitioner has only one pair of hands, ears and eyes.'
Ms Thompson called for the Government to resist the temptation to make wholesale changes in the sector. 'It should continue to invest in the early years and concentrate on providing the framework of the results it wants to see, setting clear outcomes - and then back off and leave practitioners to get on with the job.'
