The campaign group started by nursery providers in Kent is growing, with branches of the PVI Providers Association now in a number of other areas.
The Kent group has received e-mails and calls from nurseries throughout the country keen to join the movement against the Government's rules for nursery education funding for three-and-four-year-olds.
There is a branch in Oxfordshire, with others being set up in Richmond-upon-Thames, Surrey, Newcastle, Bedfordshire, Enfield and Cambridgeshire.
Acknowledging that 'it can be hard to get things off the ground', Gary Palmer, secretary of the Kent Association, said it has now put together a starter pack of tips and guidelines to help nursery owners set up their own local arm.
The association has also set out its aims in a mission statement. They are to promote the highest standards of care and education for pre-school children, to protect the parental rights for choice in pre-school provision and to represent those involved in care and education of pre-school children.
He said the group had got to such a level of success in Kent that the next step was for the campaign to go nationwide.
He urged those setting up a group to adopt the association's name for their area and mission statement. He said, 'The campaign will soon be national and if we can show the Government that we have a linked nationwide movement then we will speak with a strong voice.'
Tips in the pack include how to build an e-mail database of nurseries in your area and how to lobby local MPs, contact the press and elect a committee.
Jan Collins, manager of Carey Hall Pre-School in Enfield is hoping to set up a group in her area and has so far made contact with four other local nurseries. She said, 'It's just not possible to operate with this funding. It is together we stand, divided we fall.'
For advice and support in setting up a branch of the Association of PVI Providers e-mail kent.providers@virgin.net
