Government does not understand the perilous financial situation for nurseries, says NAHT

Today, school leaders' union NAHT is warning that without an urgent change to government policy, many nursery places may disappear by the end of the year.

Following a change to government policy at the end of last year, nurseries have been told that they will only receive funding based on the number of children in attendance on national census day this Thursday (21 January). Where nurseries have been forced to restrict attendance to vulnerable children or critical worker children as a result of a risk assessment, the government has said it will withhold funding next term.

Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “There are no two ways about this, the government’s current approach threatens the very existence of some nurseries and nursery classes. Nursery leaders are being put in an impossible position, forcing them to choose between the of safety of staff and children and financial survival.

"Without a change of approach in the next 48 hours, the government risks doing irreparable damage to nurseries. This is not about asking for extra money, it’s simply a case of ensuring all nurseries and schools receive the funding they would normally receive outside of a national lockdown.”