Nurseries want to abandon scheme

Lisa Lowes, owner of the Rainbow Day Nursery in Alnwick, said the reduction from 406 per child per term last year to 375 in the current year had provoked an angry reaction from providers.

'The network of day nurseries in Northumberland did think about withdrawing from the grant scheme, which would have meant the early years partnership not reaching its targets for funded places,' she said. 'But we decided that we would not make such a drastic step.'

Sarah Richard, Northumberland early years and childcare manager, said the funding for three- and four-year-olds was decided on the basis of NEG places the previous year and there was a shortfall in the current year as the number of places had expanded.

She said, 'Some of the funding is being retained by the local authority to avoid leaving us with a huge overspend. We were in a position of overspend last year because we funded it at 406.

'We anticipate at some stage that there will be a levelling out, that we will be able to predict the numbers coming into the system and the local authority will be able to pay the full rate.'

She said, 'We are being open with providers and asking them to log their concerns with us.'

Deborah Wylie, owner of the Little Angels Nursery in Cramlington, said, 'It makes a bit of a farce that the early years partnership is pro-active in encouraging people to register for NEG when providers are being given less money.'

She estimated that the cut could mean 6,000 less coming into her nursery this year, adding that the cost of childcare sessions is now on a par with the amount charged for education. 'Obviously there is less money to pay staff and fewer outings can be made without doing alternative fundraising.'

Cuts in funding have spurred her to consider setting up a not-for-profit company to open up new funding avenues.

Ms Wylie, a qualified teacher, said she was keen to recruit people outside the profession, pointing to research by the Effective Provision of Pre-School Education Project, which showed a strong emphasis on teacher involvement in children's centres.

'But the only way we can do that is by offering the same salary,' she said.