Commenting on a survey by Early Education showing that more than half of England’s maintained nursery schools struggle to cover core costs, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“The long-term future of Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS) should concern us all.
‘Run by specialist, highly qualified educators, MNS provide the highest quality of early education. They also serve a disproportionately high number of children with SEND, and/or those from disadvantaged backgrounds, who may otherwise not access early education entirely. Their future is not only an educational issue, but also one of social mobility and inclusion.
‘Underfunding, privatisation and falling birth rates continue to challenge their viability whilst their needs and expertise have been overlooked in delivering government policy, such as school-based nurseries.
‘The government must stop taking them for granted and respond to these findings with a renewed sense of urgency”.