More groups to fight new code

Rebecca Snedden, who runs the Ladybird children's nursery in Newcastle city centre, praised the Kent nurseries for creating the Association of PVI Providers. She said, 'Good on Kent for being proactive. We have sat back for too long. There would be clear benefits in having a local organisation because conditions change from authority to authority.'

Nicola Walters, who opened the Acres of Fun nursery in Hermitage, Berkshire, three years ago, welcomed moves to bring nurseries together in the county to oppose the code, and was grateful for the backing of the Federation of Small Businesses.

She said, 'The Government will have to look at the code again. I can't believe they are going to carry it through because nurseries are going to go under. We are not going to be viable without top-up fees.'

Anne-Marie True, who runs a 50-place Montessori nursery school in Barnes, south west London, is exploring ways to develop a local association for providers in Surrey with nursery owner Jackie Young, who called for more organised opposition to the code in a letter in last week's Nursery World.

Mrs True, London regional co-ordinator of the Montessori Forum, said, 'It's a complete disaster for nursery education. This is the straw to break the camel's back. It's unsustainable to expect us to survive on the nursery grant which would not even pay the salaries of my staff. We have subsidised the Government for a decade. We feel undervalued and treated in an unacceptable way.'

She said nursery closures would not just impact on children and parents, but also on suppliers and training colleges who were finding it harder to encourage young people into a career in childcare due to the uncertainty created by Government policy.