Children’s minister Claire Coutinho has pledged to ‘look closely’ at the percentage of early years funding that local authorities can keep back from providers in the Early Years Funding Formula.
Speaking at the National Day Nurseries Association's annual conference in Coventry (Friday, 9 June) Ms Coutinho said ‘concerns about top slicing’ had been raised in conversations with the sector.
‘We’re looking at the situation really closely to make sure we get that balance right in how the money flows to providers and ultimately to the children your care,’ she said.
In her speech, the minister recognised how during the pandemic, ‘it was nurseries that opened quickest after the first lockdown’. ‘You stayed open, getting on with the job of providing excellent education and care. I don’t think you can ever be thanked enough for this,’ she said.
