Commenting on the, Room to Grow, by the Sutton Trust and the Social Market Foundation, looking at good practice and recommendations for in school-based nurseries, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“The NEU welcomes the government’s intention to increase the number of nursery places and the focus on school-based nurseries as a route to this. However, this report highlights the serious deficiencies of the government’s approach and the significant barriers preventing schools from setting up on-site nurseries.
“State provided school-based nurseries offer the potential for far greater links to the rest of the education system and with it, the expertise of highly qualified education professionals - and the drive should be towards this model of provision. To that end, we are pleased that Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS) are now able to participate in the School-Based Nursery capital funding programme.
“MNS already act as centres of pedagogical excellence, providing effective, high-quality, teacher-led early education. They disproportionately support children with SEND, and are more likely to serve disadvantaged communities - but underfunding threatens their future.
“The government should capitalise on the existing expertise and capacity within MNS and ensure that they play a central role in future plans, including a greater focus on state-provision for school-based nurseries. Without investment though, this will not be possible: the government must show they understand the urgency of the situation and fund this proven, expert provision properly so that no more Maintained Nursery Schools close due to inadequate funding”.