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NEWS RELEASE

8 March 2007

Schools, early years and 14–16 funding consultation — Pre-school Learning Alliance comment

Commenting on the consultation, Chief Executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, the leading voluntary provider of childcare, Steve Alexander said:

“As the Pre-school Learning Alliance has been calling for a review of early education funding, we welcome these timely proposals. We believe that they will help ensure a level playing field, best use of resources and sustain the private, voluntary and independent childcare providers on which the majority of parents depend.

We are strongly in favour of the proposal to create a single funding formula for all providers to deliver the free entitlement. This, we believe, will eradicate the discrepancies that currently exist between the maintained and the private, voluntary and independent sectors in funding the early years entitlement.

We also support the proposal for a base level of places to be funded for all providers, supported by an additional pupil-led amount beyond that. At present some maintained settings are receiving funding which is place-led while funding for PVI providers is based on how many children attend the setting. Only a consistent approach can deliver the level playing field which is essential to a healthy and correctly functioning childcare market. The proposed base level funding would promote continuity and sustainability for all groups, whilst minimising the amount of resources allocated to unused places.

The Alliance welcomes the proposals for greater early years representation on Schools Forums to ensure that money in the Direct Schools Grant (DSG) earmarked for PVI sector is not topsliced and distributed to other services. That said, we feel this can only be made a reality if a minimum allocation of the Grant is ringfenced for early year years services.

Furthermore the Alliance is cautious at proposals to give local authorities too much flexibility in the base level of free entitlement funding and urges that variances in funding between different types of settings should be within specified minimal limits. It might be more sensible to consider whether a proportion of the DSG could be held back to be used as one-off sustainability grants for particular settings.”

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Kate Summerside
Pre-school Learning Alliance
T: 020 7697 2502
Out of hours press calls: 07956 499621
E: Kate Summerside

Notes for Editors:

  1. The Pre-school Learning Alliance is the largest voluntary sector provider of quality affordable childcare and education in England.
  2. Through direct provision and its membership of 15,000 nurseries, sessional pre-schools and parent and toddler groups, the Alliance supports over 800,000 children and their families in England. The Alliance also develops and runs family learning programmes, offers information and advice, runs acclaimed training and accreditation programmes and campaigns to influence early years policy and practice.
  3. For information about the Pre-school Learning Alliance, visit our website: www.pre-school.org.uk
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