Give DCSF views on code for free entitlement, nurseries are urged

The revised statutory guidance, issued following an initial consultation with stakeholders over the summer, sets out steps that local authorities must follow in providing the free entitlement.

Nurseries that offer the free entitlement will not be able to charge top-up fees or impose conditions on parents, such as that children attend for more than 15 hours a week or asking parents to pay for food or uniforms, or else risk having their funding withdrawn.

The guidance advises that free entitlement funding be prioritised on settings rated good and above, and that those rated below good should be funded to secure 'sufficiency, flexibility and accessibility'. Local authorities are to offer quality improvement support to settings that are graded below good, and they can withdraw funding from settings that are not improving the quality of their provision.

Local authorities are advised to adjust the budget for a setting to reflect fluctuations in the number of children within a financial year.

Darrell King, of the Save Our Nurseries Campaign and owner of Old School House Day Nursery near Ashford, Kent, said, 'It seems premature to be publishing this code of practice when many providers are unstill unaware of what their EYSFF rate is going to be. How can we budget if we have not been informed of what our rate is?'

The NDNA plans to publish a factsheet based on the final version of the code and is organising a national event on 3 December on the implications of the guidance.

Further information: Respond at www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations by 8 January 2010