Plans to increase early years education funding

Herefordshire Council is keeping an eye on a pilot programme taking place in parts of neighbouring Worcester which could lead to families receiving more free early years education for their three and four year olds.

At the moment nursery education funding is provided by the government to pay for three and four years olds to attend a nursery, pre-school or some specialised childminders for twelve and a half hours a week. The childcare provider offers the child early years education for this period of time, and parents can access this free service for 38 weeks of the year.

Initially, the free sessions were for 33 weeks of the year, but this increased to 38 weeks 18 months ago.

The government is aiming to increase the free entitlement to 15 hours a week by 2010. In the build up to this, a series of pilot projects are being undertaken across a small range of authorities, of which Worcestershire is one. The pilot includes increasing hours to 15 a week and funding provision for two year olds. The chosen authorities are receiving extra funding to allow them to do this.

Ros Hatherill, early years and extended services manager, said:" We are keen to see how things work out in Worcestershire, although the pilot is only operating in some parts of the county. The changes the government wants to make to nursery education funding nationally will help our children enjoy better futures.

"Herefordshire has some of the best childcare providers in the region and we have just celebrated a further 24 receiving quality awards for the work they do with children. Having a good relationship with a locally established childcare provider and knowing your child is happy is very important to parents. We don't anticipate parents will want to unsettle their children and take them over the border to gain an additional two and a half hours for the period of the pilot scheme.

"Herefordshire Council wasn't approached by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to take part in the pilot, so we cannot offer the same provision as some areas of Worcestershire at the moment. We are keen to give parents access to the additional hours as soon as possible, but we are dependant on government funding."

The results of the pilot project will help the government decide how and when to phase in the next round of changes.