In 2007 the Government announced a range of reforms to the funding system such as the introduction of common methods of counting children across sectors, a cost-analysis process to look at the cost of delivery and the Early Years Single Funding Formula. Current developments with free nursery education that you should be aware of include:
- From April 2011 all local authorities must have an Early Years Single Funding Formula (EYSFF) in place. This follows local authorities having the option to delay this for up to a year (the original requirement was that local authorities should have one in place from April 2010)
- Code of Practice. Government has released the code of practice for the delivery of a flexible 15 hour entitlement. You should ensure that you read this so you can check it against your provider agreements from your local authorities. NDNA members can click here for a factsheet which shares more about what the code means for nurseries and what you can do to highlight what patterns work for your nursery (please note you will need to be logged in for this link to be active.)
NDNA continues to monitor developments with free nursery education. We will be gathering evidence about how local authorities are implementing the Code of Practice and supporting members to share their feedback. We also continue to gather case studies for our growing evidence base on the impact of free nursery education issues, email lindsay.garfitt@ndna.org.uk to share your story.
