Funding delay leaves future of Cambridge nursery schools in doubt

A chair of governors has said local maintained nursery schools are “on a knife edge” waiting to hear whether they will still be funded next year.

Staff and children at six nurseries face an uncertain future if the government does not confirm within the next three months they will still receive the cash to stay open.

And the chair revealed that if there is no word by Christmas from the government about whether their funding is secure, her nursery will be legally obliged to give staff notice of redundancy.

Gloria Reid, chair of governors at The Fields nursery on Galfrid Road, Cambridge, said: “By now we should have a proper budget for next year but we have not been told by the government yet whether we will be getting any money to run the school. I refuse to make plans to close down but if we don’t hear about funding by the new year, then we will be legally obliged to discuss redundancy with staff as their contracts give them three months notice. We know staff must be concerned about the future and may be looking for other jobs, although I hope that’s not the case and we have been very open about the situation.

“It would be an absolute tragedy if we have to close down. We are based in a very deprived area and families rely on us to care for their children, some of whom require expert help that’s not offered at all nurseries.

“We are also an ‘outstanding’ nursery, according to Ofsted, and our staff are so experienced that they train teachers in other schools. We also provide much-needed special needs assessments for children and speech therapy and we offer a place to children who may not be accepted by a private nursery. If maintained nurseries have to close down, it will create a lost generation of children.”

The county council said funding for five Cambridge nurseries is under review: Brunswick, Colleges, Homerton, King’s Hedges and The Fields. Histon Nursery School and Huntingdon Nursery School are also threatened with a withdrawal of funding.

Together, the schools receive approximately £1.1m a year from the government in a specific grant, which the county council described as a “significant” proportion of their funding – roughly 20 per cent to 40 per cent of each nursery’s budget. The nurseries faced a similar situation last year but at the last minute were granted 12 months more of funding.

Jonathan Lewis, service director of education at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “The quality of care and education at our nursery schools is a top priority for us. We are committed to ensuring there are sufficient early education places across the county. The government has confirmed that maintained nursery schools funding will be provided until the end of summer 2020, this reflects the valuable contribution which they make to the early years education and childcare sector. In the absence of any guarantee of funding beyond this date, we have entered into conversations with governors, headteachers, and will be talking to parents to discuss alternative models to overcome this potential challenge. We will also be writing to the secretary of state to request this funding continues.”