Just 52 per cent of PVI settings in the borough of Merton are offering free sessions to parents, with other settings reducing fees or deducting the nursery education grant (NEG) from the full cost of provision.
Private, voluntary and independent (PVI) settings, who provide 16 per cent of the borough's free nursery education, said local authority funding did not cover their costs. On average, maintained schools were found to receive more funding per pupil than PVI settings.
The research, commissioned by the local authority, also found that while 81 per cent of PVI settings are already delivering services for 38 weeks or more, only 17 per cent of maintained schools are planning to increase provision to 38 weeks by 2010, because of problems with premises and staff contracts.
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