The announcement comes after Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg told his party’s autumn conference that there will be an extra £100 million this year for capital spending such as converting part of an existing building into extra nursery space.
Twenty per cent of the poorest two-year-olds across Cambridgeshire will receive nursery education from September 2013 which means 1,045 children will benefit. This will rise to include the poorest 40 per cent by 2014.
And the county will benefit from more than £833,000 of capital spend money to prepare children for school and help the most hard-pressed families with childcare costs.
Julian said: “It is evident that youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds struggle to keep up with their peer group and this divide only gets bigger over time. This investment means that no child should miss out and will give children from the poorest backgrounds a good start to their education. Hopefully that will allow them to go into school and make the most of their opportunities.”
Notes
The funding is being provided at a flat rate per child per hour (adjusted for the area’s average costs). Local authorities will receive an average of £5.09 per child per hour, which they are expected to pass on in full to schools, nurseries and childminders. This is significantly above the market rate of £4.13 (Daycare Trust figures) which providers charge and will enable high quality staff to be retained, recruited and trained.
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Huppert welcomes £4 million for nursery schooling
28 November 2012
MP Julian Huppert has welcomed the news announced yesterday (Tuesday) that Cambridgeshire will get more than £4 million for 15 hours a week of free nursery education for the county’s poorest two-year-olds by 2014.