Responding to the National Day Nurseries Association’s (NDNA)
research into local authority funding rates to nurseries for two,
three and four year olds, Cllr Roy Perry, Vice Chairman of
the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said:
"From September, councils will be working closely with providers
to deliver the Government's commitment to an additional 15 hours
of free childcare for working parents, bringing the total to 30
hours. This represents a great opportunity to provide support for
parents as well as early education for children to help them get
ready to start school.
“However, councils remain concerned that the proposed increase in
funding will not be enough to secure enough high quality
provision for everyone who wants it.
“Councils have a statutory responsibility for quality,
flexibility and sufficiency of early years provision in their
areas. In the recent revised funding formula, the Government set
a target of just 5 per cent of the overall funding to be retained
by councils to support essential central administration and
support. The research shows that on average local authorities are
already retaining less than 5 per cent.
“In some instances, where councils provide more centralised
training and support in agreement with nurseries and other early
years providers, local authorities may agree with government to
retain a higher level of funding, enabling the sector to reflect
differences in local approaches.”
