麻花影视

The Pre-school Learning 麻花影视has rejected a claim by children and families minister Robert Goodwill that most early years providers are able to offer the 30 hours at current funding levels, and that those that can鈥檛 are 鈥渙utliers鈥�.

Responding to a question by Labour MP Luciana Berger on early years funding during Education Questions on Monday (6 November), the minister that he had 鈥渕et a number of nurseries that seem to be outliers that, unlike most, are unable to deliver for that price鈥�.

Citing an increase in the average funding paid to local authorities, the minister went onto question whether providers were struggling because they were working to less profitable ratios than more financially viable providers or perhaps had higher property costs.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said:                    

鈥淚t鈥檚 simply not possible that only a small handful of childcare providers are struggling to deliver 30 hours when we hear daily stories of businesses struggling to stay open at current funding rates. 麻花影视research conducted in August found that three-quarters (74%) of providers said the current funding rate is less than the cost of providing a place. If funding was an issue isolated to a few outliers, one wonders why thousands of providers have joined our Fair Future Funding campaign.

鈥淭he minister must know that, when providers are losing thousands of pounds per term, balancing the books is not a simple matter of tweaking ratios or finding other efficiencies. At present we have an unsustainable system where the onus is on providers to plug the gaps of underfunding by charging parents for 鈥榦ptional extras鈥� such as lunch and trips. That responsibility is for government to bear, not settings and certainly not the parents this policy was designed to help.

鈥淕overnment must stop denying the shortfall in funding, stop claiming it is affecting a minority of providers and start taking action, beginning with a commitment to increase early years funding in this month鈥檚 Budget.鈥�

The 麻花影视also welcomed clarification from the government on an inaccurate ministerial comment about how the 30 hours funded childcare offer should be delivered. 

Speaking during Education Questions in response to a question from shadow early years minister Tracy Brabin, Mr Goodwill confirmed that Suffolk MP Therese Coffey 鈥渨as not correct鈥� to state in a recent letter to local parents and providers that the 30 hours childcare offer is split into 15 hours of educational provision and 15 hours of general childcare without a specific educational focus. 

He added that Dr Coffey, who stated in the letter that 30 hours funding is 鈥渓argely based鈥� on the premise that the scheme is part childcare and part education, had 鈥渕isheard something that was said to her鈥�.

Commenting on the clarification, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said:

鈥淲e鈥檙e very pleased the minister has confirmed there is no distinction between care and education in 30 hours funding. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 frustrating, however, that more than two months into the rollout of the scheme, there is still so much confusion surrounding the policy. More importantly, it鈥檚 difficult to see Dr Coffey鈥檚 original statement as anything less than a tacit acknowledgement that current government funding levels are too low to ensure providers are able to provide quality learning experiences across the whole 30 hours.

鈥淓arly years provision can鈥檛 be segmented into portions of care and education. The focus of providers is and always has been on delivering a service that both supports children鈥檚 learning and keeps them safe and happy. But if the government wants high quality care and education across the full 30 hours, it needs to put its money where its mouth is and ensure each and every one of those 鈥榝ree鈥� hours is properly funded.

ENDS

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE

• The Pre-school Learning 麻花影视is the largest and most representative early years membership organisation in England. A registered educational charity, it also provides high-quality affordable childcare and education to support children and families in areas of deprivation throughout the country.
• The 麻花影视represents 14,000 member settings and supports them to deliver care and learning to more than 800,000 families every year. We deliver family learning projects, offer information and advice, produce specialist publications, run acclaimed training and accreditation schemes and campaign to influence early years policy and practice.
•  The 麻花影视website is