PVI partnership guidelines 'need force'

Private and voluntary childcare organisations have welcomed the Government's latest guidance on the planning and funding of extended schools, while warning that 'enforceable guidelines' are needed to avoid local variations in the way providers are treated.

Children's minister Beverley Hughes has said that by 2010, every community will have access to a children's centre and many of these centres will be 'co-located with primary schools'.

Planning and funding extended schools states that extended schools 'cannot develop in isolation' and that schools need to work in partnership with local authorities and private and voluntary sectors to develop services that can 'complement, not duplicate, existing provision'.

NDNAchief executive Purnima Tanuku said, 'This document is a first step to ensuring schools engage with the expertise of private and voluntary sectors. However, we do believe schools and local authorities will require enforceable guidelines to avoid local variations in the way providers are treated.'

The guidance acknowledges that many third-party providers are experienced in delivering childcare. It says that joining up with other providers can reduce administrative burdens and the costs involved in establishing and maintaining services.

John Theedom, director of business development at the Pre-School Learning Alliance, welcomed the guidance. He said, 'It highlights the complexity of some of the arrangements that schools experience when setting up extended services, and it signposts where to go for support.'

He added, 'In the past there has been some trepidation from schools and governors about what's needed to set up extended school services and childcare. This guide clearly sets out the benefits of working with private and voluntary sector providers.'

Download the guidance at http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/_doc/9843/PlanningandFunding ExtendedSchools.pdf.