Last month the Department for Education published new statutory guidance for local authorities on the delivery of three-and four-year-old places, which at 20 pages was half the length of the 2010 code and was meant to be less prescriptive.
But one nursery owner, who did not wish to be named, has made a formal complaint to his local authority about what he says are 'unreasonable conditions' that are being imposed on providers from September. He said he was given just nine days to sign and return the agreement and that his local authority did not consult early years providers about the new terms for delivering the free entitlement.
He has been told that nurseries must commit to offering parents their free 15 hours as either three-hour sessions over five days or five hour sessions over three days. But he contends that the guidance states that it should be up to local authorities to ensure they have sufficient provision in their area to meet this flexibility, not individual providers.
He told Nursery World, 'My understanding is that the duty is on the local authorities across their area, but they've said that every provider has to do this.'
He said that the guidance is 'so prescriptive about the delivery model for every provider that if we had to do this it would render our provision unsustainable.'
He adds, 'We can't recoup our losses on the rate they're paying.' The nursery is losing £1.72 an hour on every place.
The nursery in question has never charged parents a 'top-up' fee to make up the losses.
The owner has made a formal complaint to the local authority and is raising it with his MP.
After querying the issue with the DfE he received a response advising that, 'Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that, as a minimum, parents are able to take up their child's free early education place in the following ways: three hours a day over five days of the week or five hours a day over three days of the week.
'We expect local authorities to work with providers to enable this. There is no national requirement that all providers should deliver free places in this way. However, local authorities do have the power to attach local conditions to the funding they give providers to deliver free places.'
Meanwhile, a pre-school owner from Brighton said he was concerned that while the Government has emphasised that the aim of the new statutory guidance is to move to lighter touch regulation and reduce bureaucracy, local authorities might in practice impose more stringent criteria on providers.
The owner argues that because the pre-school is only open five days a week from 9.15-2.45 term-time only, he is unable to make enough on hours outside the free entitlement to cover shortfalls in funding.
The pre-school currently has 70 children on the register. The local authority pays £3.71 an hour per child for the free entitlement, but the pre-school is 'effectively losing more than £735 a year' for every threeand four-year-old who accesses the full 15 hours a week over 38 weeks.
The owner says, 'Our contention is that no individual provider should be required to guarantee parents that they can offer the full 15 hours. We should not be obliged to provide the full 15 hours ourselves, but should be able to offer parents some of the hours at certain times of the day.'
The recession has further restricted opportunities to make money back on free places. The pre-school, which takes children from around two-and-a -half has seen a change in the pattern of attendance.
The nursery owner adds, 'Many parents are holding two-year-olds back and waiting until their child is eligible for the free 15 hours.'
Nursery World has also learned that some local authorities are positively encouraging providers to make up the losses incurred on funding hours through charging a premium on unfunded hourss outside the free entitlement.
- The NDNA has produced guidance for members comparing the differences between the 2010 Code of Practice and the 2012 guidance. www.ndna.org.uk/code-of-practice.
