EYSFF poses threat to nursery classes in schools
Nursery classes attached to primary schools in some parts of England may face closure because of changes to their funding arrangements under the Early Years Single Funding Formula (EYSFF) and the end of place funding.
Children at Beacon Rise nursery, Bristol
A consultation is underway in South Gloucestershire on the future of five of its eight nursery classes, which the local authority claims are unsustainable in their current form. The number of children attending maintained nursery classes in South Glouces- tershire is reported to have fallen since 2001, with only 262 out of 502 available places occupied in October 2008 and only 230 places forecast to be filled from September 2010.
The nursery classes under threat are those at Tynedale Primary School in Yate, South Gloucestershire, and Coniston, Gillingstool, Beacon Rise and Parkwall Primary Schools, which are all in Bristol.
The consultation document says that parents are increasingly opting to use PVI settings, which offer more flexible opening hours and patterns of attendance.
'Under the new funding arrangements, which will be based on the number of children attending rather than the number of registered places, schools will either need to attract more children, or will need to raise additional revenue by charging for extended services in order to operate a sustainable nursery class,' the document states.
The consultation document calls for the schools to select a PVI provider to provide nursery education and extended childcare provision on site from September 2010. However, school governors from Beacon Rise have said that the school does not have enough space.
Kirsty Bailey, a mother of three whose three-year-old daughter attends Beacon Rise nursery, has launched a campaign against the changes.
She said, 'I chose to send my children to Beacon Rise, although it is not my nearest school, because I went there myself. I think a nursery class is a perfect introduction to school. It gets children used to the environment and helps them make the transition.'
The consultation on the South Gloucestershire nursery classes closes tomorrow (27 November).
Megan Pacey, chief executive of Early Education, which is campaigning against the introduction of the EYSFF, told Nursery World that she is receiving more and more calls from headteachers who are concerned about the impact of the EYSFF on nursery classes.
'In many respects, primary schools are only just beginning to understand the impact that the EYSFF is going to have on their nursery provision,' she said. 'There will be more cases like this in the build-up to the implementation of the EYSFF.'
Previous concerns have focused on the impact of the EYSFF on maintained nursery school provision (News, 7 October).
