Editor's view

The Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative always seemed to have several flaws, not least in how the nurseries created would ever be sustainable. It started off at a gallop, achieving its target of 45,000 places in advance of the due date. Recently, as the funding nears its end, there has been news of several closures and sales, and the Pre-School Learning Alliance has made its fears about the future of NNI settings known. Now a series of major studies of the implementation and impact of the programme, commissioned by the DfES, offers a rigorous analysis of the positives and negatives (see News, page 4). Sure enough, the private sector-owned NNI nurseries are seen as more sustainable, but are positioned in less disadvantaged areas, have reached fewer disadvantaged children and employ less-qualified, lower-paid staff. The maintained sector settings stuck more to the designated disadvantaged areas, employed more highly-qualified staff offering what tended to be higher-quality care, but didn't look to be sustainable without further subsidy.