The broken local authority nursery funding system is pitching parents against providers, says Tim McLachlan…
When the Labour government replaced the words “free childcare” with “government-funded childcare”, we breathed a sigh of relief – because it moved away from misleading promises.
Sadly, barely weeks later, they had changed their rhetoric along with their delivery guidance, promising parents “cheaper childcare” and an end to “rip-off nurseries”.
Since then, NDNA has been helping members across the country who feel they are being overwhelmed and overly restricted by their local authority’s interpretation of this guidance.
Why is this happening and how can we reach a resolution that works for everyone?
The DfE does not appear to be “policing” its own guidance. Instead, it is giving councils more powers to “supervise” how providers deliver the entitlement. This results in a postcode lottery and a lack of consistency.
NDNA has called for a stronger, national approach. For years we have documented the damaging effects of a broken funding system, in which some councils retain millions of pounds of early years money that never reaches providers.
We’re now starting to analyse our latest investigation into council underspends. It’s clear that this issue is getting worse. Double the number of councils are underspending by more than £1 million in early years.
Charges for meals and consumables have always been voluntary. However, until recently, there was more understanding of how nurseries needed to meet these extra costs.
The system was designed around the assumption that parents would purchase additional hours and services, enabling settings to remain viable.
The landscape changed when some parents complained to their ombudsman, which culminated in high-profile fines for some councils.
Last year, Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole (BCP) appealed its fine. The High Court found in favour of the complainant. It was unlawful to make mandatory charges to access an early years place.
Providers could not charge top-up fees or make parents pay for additional hours. Facing potential fines, councils have been auditing providers and, in some cases, imposing punitive rules.
Some (including Cheshire West/Chester and Havering) forced providers to sign agreements they felt they couldn’t comply with, but had to accept to receive the funding.
Parents have been pitched against providers, who have railed against packed lunches and hours that don’t fit their settings.
Nurseries in Havering were forced to create a “two-tier” system. This explained what parents who agreed to pay charges would receive compared with those who did not.
This was also prohibited. This situation doesn’t benefit anyone. It could result in a race to the bottom, where anything that makes a nursery stand out or gives children more rounded experiences is deemed as “optional” and therefore can’t be done due to the unrecoverable costs.
There are solutions. It’s vital nurseries have good representation, such as national organisations like NDNA, but also locally, through networks or your Schools Forum.
I have written to the CEOs of some councils that have caused hardships and met with councillors. We have advised nursery networks and raised their issues with the press to put pressure on these councils to support their nurseries.
Know the guidance well, so you can stand firm if you believe your council is overstepping. Part of the ruling from the BCP case was that providers can choose when they offer funded hours. Nurseries can quote this if they need to.
We continue to raise concerns about Ofsted inspecting nurseries more rigorously on nutritional value and mealtime safety where councils insist parents can provide their own food.
The government must pay for meals for children in nursery all day if they don’t want parents to foot the bill.
They currently fund meals for nurseries in schools. This must be extended to all providers, as is the case in Scotland.
NDNA promotes to parents that this scheme is underfunded and some aspects are unfunded; that “extras” like meals are essentials.
Nursery employers can download our packed-lunch policy template and letters to parents explaining why the charges benefit their children.
Tim McLachlan is chief executive of NDNA.
