Speaking ahead of the Montessori School Association's (MSA) annual conference, the association's chair, Martin Bradley, said that in 'at least three local authorities' providers reported that they were allowed to stipulate that parents could only use their free entitlement hours in the afternoons.
In practice, this means that if parents want hours in the morning or over lunch they have to pay for them, which Mr Bradley said was actually helping nurseries to cover their costs.
He said, 'The fact that the free place is surrounded by charged hours means they can break even.'
This appears to run counter to the new Code, which was designed to give parents more flexibility over their 15 hours and the right for the first time for parents to ask local authorities to find free childcare when they want it.
Mr Bradley said that while it was unclear how many nurseries have opted out since the Code came into force, anecdotal reports suggested it could be a 'significant' number, and that he believed this was not just in areas in the south-east, such as Buckinghamshire.
He said that some settings had closed and that up to a third of Montessori settings had withdrawn from the free entitlement funding in some areas.
'In less affluent areas parents can't afford to pay fees. In Somerset and Lincolnshire, providers are saying that they will have to cut their costs because parents can't afford to pay full daycare or do not work enough hours. It's clear that people have had to alter their budgets.'
Mr Bradley said that the MSA has been monitoring the impact of the Code and the impact of the Early Years Single Funding Formula and is gathering more information on the number of providers who have opted out of the free entitlement.
He also said that he and Barbara Isaacs, Montessori Centre International's academic director, had met with Dame Clare Tickell and the EYFS review team and spoken about the desire for stability in the EYFS and their concerns about the EYFS Profile.
He said, 'We've been very pleased with Clare Tickell's willingness to discuss. Ideally, we want an acceptance that the Montessori approach meets the requirements of the EYFS. At the moment we have to translate Montessori planning into the EYFS.'
He added, 'There needs to be a recognition that there should be a core of welfare requirements that are significantly more crucial, such as safeguarding.'
The MSA is working with a number of Montessori schools putting together proposals to open free schools.
'At least five are at the point of completing the forms and one is being visited by the department next week,' he said.
While the MSA was considering becoming more involved in developing its own free schools, Mr Bradley added, 'We want more detail to be clear about what's available in terms of funding and other requirements.'
He said the association was concerned that some groups are trying to set up free schools using the Montessori name when they do not use Montessori teaching or have properly qualified Montessori staff.
