Katy Morton analyses changes coming down the track and garners opinion on the wider implications.
New analysis of the £100 million capital funding to prepare for the 30 hours extension suggests that local authorities will receive a share of just £650,000 each to pass on to settings to extend their provision.
Announced at the end of October, the Department for Education (DfE) said it anticipated that the funding, which is for early years and out-of-school settings, will add ‘thousands’ of new childcare places across the country.
However, the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), which carried out the analysis for Nursery World, said when ‘looking at the numbers, it can’t see how the funding will support many nursery expansion plans’.
Chief executive Purnima Tanuku explained, ‘If you split the money evenly across 150 local authority areas, it’s only around £650,000 for each. This will not buy a great deal for many providers. It may not be evenly distributed, so some areas could end up with very little or nothing.
