Save maintained nursery schools

MNS are local authority run schools for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds.  They provide education and other services to children and their families.  There are currently only 392 maintained nursery schools (MNS) left open in England.

MNS are some of the highest quality institutions in our education system. Aall 392 MNS are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted.  MNS serve young children and their families all over England, with a large number of their pupils coming from the most deprived communities.

MNS have twice the proportion of pupils with a special educational need or disability (SEND) than other forms of early years provision and support many families in and around the edges of the care system struggling with multiple disadvantage. MNS also work as teaching schools developing future talent in the teaching profession and helping neighbouring early years provision – in all types of setting - to improve.

If nursery schools close, the cost of looking after children in great need will fall upon other services.  It is also widely acknowledged that access to high quality early education, as provided by MNS, makes a substantial, positive difference to a child’s start in life and future educational achievement.

Early years education and childcare is currently offered by a variety of providers.  MNS are in the minority, with the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector forming a large majority.

MNS are schools.  They have all the obligations of schools – they must have a headteacher, qualified teachers and a SENCO, must fulfil the same requirements as primary and secondary schools for governance, admissions procedures, attendance monitoring, etc.  As a result, MNS running costs are higher than PVIs – but they do not have the same funding entitlements as maintained primary or secondary schools.   

PVIs are owned privately and can offer sessional or full day care to children aged two to five. They, too, have been affected by cuts and inadequate funding: the government rate in support of its ‘free’ 30 hours childcare offer is in most cases insufficient to cover their cases.  PVIs also think the additional £66 million of new funding announced by Sajid Javid for early education in August 2019 will not make even the smallest inroad into bridging what they call a £662 million funding gap in the sector.

The NEU is campaigning for all education funding to be increased and maintained at a level that provides high quality education for all.  This includes our ask of approximately £400m for early years funding to bring this sector back in line with 2015 funding levels. 

At the same time, we recognise that the MNS sector is a unique resource whose loss would lower the capacity and quality of early years provision as a whole.  In addition, as a trade union, we have the responsibility to respond to the situation of our members.  Here, defending the interests of our members in MNS and the interests of the sector coincide.

The funding announcement on 30 August 2019 increased Early Years Funding, which includes MNS and is welcome, but it is not enough!  NEU has calculated that Early Years funding should increase by £400m approximately by 2022/23 to return to 2015/16 funding levels, but the government has only confirmed £66M.  This is a shortfall of approximately £334M. 

Shockingly, there has been no announcement about funding for the 392 MNS.  31% of MNS funding comes from a special grant, which is roughly £60m a year. The grant runs out in August 2020. The grant is a constituent part of the Early Years Funding block.  We need to secure a commitment to continue this grant for MNS beyond August 2020.

The NEU argues MNS have proven value, so we need a long-term funding solution to prevent further closures. MNS need to be funded properly and should not be left in a position where they are unable to plan for the future.

The Government should be investing in existing provision as well as opening new fully funded MNS in areas that don’t have any.  The government requires all schools to have three-year budgets in place, so MNS now need to be able to make reasonable assumptions about their budgets from 2020 onwards. 

We call on government to make good on its recognition that MNS are schools and make a commitment to fund MNS on the same basis as all other schools.  Given their particular focus on the most disadvantaged children – MNS should receive the pupil premium at the schools’ rate, including pupil premium plus for looked after children.  The cost of providing schools-based funding should be in line with the amount of supplementary funding currently provided.

• Support the APPG on Nursery Schools, Nursery and Reception Classes 
• Sign and publicise the School Cuts petition to the Prime Minister asking him to take action to save nursery schools
• Support the campaign to save maintained nursery schools on social media #SchoolCuts #saveournurseries
• Try and ensure that your local authority postpones any decisions to close or restructure MNS provision until details of the funding situation beyond summer 2020 are known