In her Vision for Childcare report, Dame Rachel de Souza lays out plans for “opening up schools to provide more early years education” as a solution for issues faced by private, voluntary and independent providers, around increased rental and utility costs.
Sector leaders have criticised the plans as "incredibly misguided" and have accused de Souza of “completely ignoring the importance and prominence of the private and voluntary sector”.
The report states: “Schools should also be utilised to help address the early education challenge.
“As school rolls fall across the country, with the number of pupils in state funded primaries set to fall by a fifth over the next decade, there will be significant underused space in schools. Currently, rent or mortgage payments account for 12 per cent of private providers’ costs, and other costs (including utilities) account for 11 per cent - these are only likely to increase in the short term, and may make many childcare settings unsustainable.
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