Opinion

Editor's view - A capital idea?

Policy & Politics
It's been quite a week - beginning with Nick Clegg's announcement of 100 million of capital funding to help providers offer the free places for disadvantaged two-year-olds and ending with the Nursery World Awards event at the Lancaster London!

The £100 million has provoked mixed opinions. On the one hand, it is certainly true that starting to take disadvantaged two-year-olds can mean that settings will need to expand or upgrade premises, change their environment to suit the needs of this group, and provide different resources.

The idea that new providers might use the grant to open a business and take in what can be a very challenging group seems very misguided, however. This is not a job for the novice nursery or childminder.

And, as many in the early years sector have pointed out, on our LinkedIn group and elsewhere, 'shiny new buildings' are not the most important thing here. These very young children and their families need very high-quality provision, with highly-trained practitioners. This costs a lot of money.

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