This is an extract from one of our local nusery schools (maintained) regarding their funding. Considering they are a maintained setting i am surprised that they are able to do this...but it just shows how tricky it is to get funding right...
The Government has implemented the Early Years New Funding Formula that takes effect on 1 April 2017. The formula sets out how much funding per hour our Nursery Schools receive for each child taking up a funded place. Despite the Government’s promise to give Local Authorities enough funding to maintain current levels for Maintained Nursery Schools, our Federation is facing a significant reduction in funding per child per hour. Many of you will be aware of the Government’s election manifesto commitment to give working families 30 hours of free childcare for 3- and 4-year-old children from September 2017. Early Years providers, including Maintained Nursery Schools, are not obligated to provide the extended entitlement. The Decision Process The Governing Body is committed to our core purpose of providing outstanding Early Years education to as many children and families as possible and this is always at the forefront of any discussions. Using the new levels of funding, the Governors performed an analysis of how the Nursery Schools will be affected financially if they offered the extended entitlement. It has become very clear that if we offered the 30 hours under the current levels of funding, the Nursery schools would immediately go into deficit budgets. The Governing body has, therefore, decided that our Nursery Schools are not in a position to offer the extended entitlement due to the reduced funding. We fully understand and appreciate that this will be disappointing for some parents, but the Governing Body cannot implement an admissions procedure that will negatively impact on the sustainability of the Nursery Schools