Labour will encourage councils to open more maintained nurseries

Early Education welcomes the announcement by Bridget Philipson MP, the Shadow Education Secretary, that Labour intends for an expansion of the maintained nursery sector to be at the heart of its plans to reform the early childhood education and care sector. According to coverage in the Guardian, Labour’s plan to grow the sector will remove […]

Consultation opens on ratios and early years funding in England, including maintained nursery schools

We welcome today’s announcement from government that it intends to allocate a further £10m to raise the level of supplementary funding for those maintained nursery schools which currently receive the least – or in some cases none at all. The statement from government says: Also announced today is an additional £10 million investment for Maintained […]

More than half of England’s maintained nursery schools struggling to cover core costs

A survey carried out by sector body Early Education in association with education unions the NAHT, NEU and UNISON, has found that more than half of all maintained nursery schools in England had an in-year deficit in 2021-22 and 28% of had a cumulative deficit.  Only 4 in ten (41%) had been able to set […]

Hundreds of school staff march on Downing Street to save nursery schools

Today (Tues 19 Oct), 150 representatives from maintained nursery schools in England will gather in London’s Parliament Square, alongside parents, campaigners and MPs, before marching to Downing Street to deliver a petition to the Chancellor, calling on him to ‘take urgent action’ over funding. The petition has been signed by over 2,000 school leaders, staff […]

Early Education and unions call for long-term MNS funding

Organisations representing Maintained Nursery Schools have joined together to warn the government that it must provide a long-term funding solution for Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS) as part of this autumn’s spending review if further closures and cuts to staffing and services are to be avoided. Early Education, NAHT NEU and Unison have written to both […]

June 2021

Updated briefing for MPs

Nursery Schools forced to make further cuts as government leaves them in the dark over key funding decisions

A new survey carried out by Early Education, NAHT, NEU and UNISON has revealed that over a third (34%) of Maintained Nursery Schools are cutting staffing and services to balance their books as a result of lost income and additional Covid costs, coupled with a lack of certainty over the funding they will receive from spring 2022. […]

February 2021

Letter from the APPG Officers to the Chancellor

January 2021

Briefing on the impact of COVID-19 on the early years sector – safety concerns and funding