Single Funding Formula Changes Force Cut In Nursery Hours

[Guest]

By Melanie Defries, Nursery World, 7 October 2009:

Maintained nursery schools in at least two parts of England have been told that their budgets will be slashed from next September because of the introduction of the single funding formula and the extension to the free entitlement.

 

http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/bulleti...seryWorldUpdate

 

Regards

Mark

http://earlychildcare.wordpress.com/

[Inge]

Only as expected, it was always going to happen with a single formula.

 

Isn't this just a way of levelling the playing field between money given to maintained settings and the PVI who work on head counts... and have always made losses, not been able to pay wages etc etc etc, particularly in Sept term relying on later in year to recover the costs etc.

 

while we would all prefer it to be the other way round so all could receive a good wage and offer the hours , it will never happen, cost too much and probably would mean closures of settings who cannot offer the hours..

 

there is no answer to this one, someone will miss out which ever way it is done..

 

Inge

[HappyMaz]

As you say Inge, there's no surprise here. This is such a complicated issue. One thought struck me during the early conversations about the single funding formula. If only children in a reception class will be able to access a fully funded full time place, then would this mean that nursery schools are going to have to take twice as many children as they did before when they had previously offered full time places? The effects on the surrounding provision would obviously be disastrous. Alternatively if children were restricted to having only three hours a day would there be an increase in children attending for a whole day, but split across two settings? This would obviously generate extra business for the surrounding settings.

 

Our currently hourly rate of funding is £3.55 and call me cynical but I can't see this being the only form of income for maintained nursery settings. They just couldn't afford to run the building and pay the wages on that level of funding. Surely there will be a separate budget from which these costs will be met? Otherwise slashed budgets will be the last of their worries - nurseries would probably be closed.

 

Its such a worrying time for all of us I think. There will certainly be winners and losers but I have this sinking feeling that the losers will be the families who need to find care for their children.

 

Maz

[Guest]

Hello

 

Recently as a private provider, I have been involved with our local authority who are consulting with all providers with regard to SFF.

 

Sorry to be negative but I have not seen any ‘winners’.......Different settings have different costs, rent, rates, wages etc, we can’t all ‘sell’ the same service at the same price.

 

This is going to effect everyone involved in early years.

 

Most of all the families who rely on our services.

 

Yes Maz I really do think that the agenda is to close nursery schools ...they are too expensive for local authorities to operate

 

Julie

[eyfs1966]

It's odd isn't it, how both state and PVI feel they will lose out under the SFF. For a formula that was designed to "level the playing field" how come we are all feeling that we will end up losing out?

 

Where are the winners? Or is this such a clever formula that it manages to more evenly spread a pot of money, by reducing the total???? Or am I just a cynic.

 

Come on all you winners, let us know who you are!!

[catma]

Primary schools will still have their overall budget - the money they get for nursery is just part of that total pot. They'll probably reduce additional staffing!! It's not ring fenced monies.

 

Cx

[thumperrabbit]

All our local school nurseries state that they are currently running at a loss now, and they are currently getting more funding than us (£3.37 per hour) how will they cope? they are all at full capacity.

 

This year we have £2,500.00 to fund raise to break even I hope our funding doesn't go down anymore!

[Guest]

Anybody beginning to suspect that the figures just don't add up?

[Stargrower]

For the past two terms, my local authority has 'banded' the amount of early ed grant a setting gets according to the qualifications of the staff working with 3 and 4 year olds. The amount of money depends on the highest qualification of staff spending a minimum of 75% of their time with the children (the other 25% to include lunch breaks as well as planning and record-keeping time). I am a recent graduate, soon to complete EYPS but I am also the manager of the setting so cannot spend this amount of my time with one group of children ( we have children 0 - 8). Consequently, we are paid just £3.02 per hour funding because we have (fantastic) level 3 staff rather than £3.60 if I was working with the 3 and 4 year olds. I feel this is wrong on so many levels - it devalues level 3 staff, it gives the impression that 3 and 4 year olds are more important than other age groups (wasn't that the point of the EYFS?) and is just plain unfair!

[Guest]

Has anyone got more information about this as the head has told us that it will have major implications to Nursery and there will be BIG changes.

[Guest]

Just received info from the Head about cut in funding........we are down £14000

[HappyMaz]

Just received info from the Head about cut in funding........we are down £14000

Cue nervous coughing up and down the land. How many children do you have on roll, s4mmy90? This kind of shortfall would close me down within the month.

 

I'm assuming you're in a school setting, given your mention of the Head - but however large the budget, £14,000 is a big shortfall to make up.

 

How very sad.

 

Maz

[Guest]

£ 30,000 down at leat at the last meeting and some other nurseries (maintained) 60-90,000!!!!!!!!!!!