Early years membership organisations have been receiving increasingnumbers of reports from maintained nurseries that are experiencing lowtake-up because parents require more flexible provision.
According to the reports, local authorities are turning away nurseriesthat are hoping to offer more flexible wrap-around services for parents,on the basis that the area already offers sufficient places for thenumber of resident children, regardless of the location and income ofparents in the area.
"Many parents value longer opening hours because school hours maketransition times - picking up and dropping-off at school - difficult,"said Megan Pacey, chief executive of Early Education.
"If local authorities are denying nurseries the opportunity of improvingtheir offer, parents will be put off using them and the nursery willreceive less funding per pupil. Ultimately, it means they'll be forcedto close."
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