Last week I got a phone call from Julie Lawton at the DCSF in response to an email I sent 2 weeks ago. I wanted answers about when groups like ours will know what is going on financially - what sort of timescales are we looking at for reform of the systems etc.
I explained in some detail the position in Ealing, explained our particular position at Hanwell Bunnies and the difficulties we were having as a direct result of the Nursery Education Grant.
I totally agree with the Government agenda of making education free to 3 and 4 year olds - but making life so difficult for groups such as ours so that we find it hard to continue is hardly a solution - and it hardly benefits the children it's meant to be helping...
Ms Lawton explained that the Education Grant from central Government to the LEAs is not ringfenced at all - to cater for different local needs. The Government are arguing that the LEAs are getting enough to allocate the funds out fairly to all sectors, and are now asking the LEAs to conduct a cost-analysis of Early Years settings to prove how much it costs to run them.
It is all far too political for my liking. I'm not sure whether there is any place in Ealing or the Government's grand plan for committee-run charity pre-schools - I think they want the variety of childcare in the marketplace but are not prepared to listen to our problems or see us as special or in need of extra support. By the time they've realised we were doing quite a good job, we'll all have disappeared... I really don't want that to happen to Hanwell Bunnies - do you?
