Nurseries affected by HCC funding

One nursery owner said the “last-minute” change has left many providers feeling “uncomfortable”, “alone”, and unable to trust the council.

The expansion grants were intended to help nurseries cover the higher costs of delivering the government’s new childcare offer for children aged nine months and over from September 1.

According to the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), providers in Hampshire were told that the funding would be calculated based on the number of children under two years old recorded in the summer term headcount.

However, the council used the figure from the spring headcount as the basis for allocating the grant, leaving nurseries with shortfalls.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service,  nursery owner Jayne Sergeant, who runs Cuddles and Care Day Nursery in Eastleigh, said that nurseries across Hampshire realised about the change after it was raised in a nursery owners’ Facebook group.

She said: “One of the persons contacted Hampshire and informed us that the money will arrive, but in a separate batch based on the spring headcount.

“Everybody was like, ‘Spring headcount?’ We were told right from the early part of this year that it was going to be based on the summer headcount, which is why it wasn’t paid on August 31.

“Because if it were based on the spring headcount, that headcount finished on March 31, we could have the money considerably sooner.”

She said that if the summer headcount were taken into consideration, her nursery should have received £4,800 from the funding. Instead, the council only paid £2,000; “It’s a lot of money.”

The expected £4,800 grant was allocated to resource a new unit at the nursery, enabling the setting to increase its numbers and accommodate an additional 16 children.

“As a setting, we were fortunate enough to apply specifically for the original capital expansion grant because we just put a new extended building in the back of our property.

“But that only covers the construction of the room itself; it didn’t actually cover the resources and everything we need to put in it to make it an exciting space for the children to come and do their learning in a secure environment.”

She said that in early September, Hampshire County Council sent an email to nurseries apologising for the “confusion”  since earlier communications had indicated it would be calculated on the summer data.

Jayne said: “It says ‘any confusion’. Well, I don’t think any of us as providers in Hampshire were actually confused.

“We were aware that the information said it will be based on your summer headcount.

“As a setting open all year round, we have a lot of children who stretch their entitlement over the year, so the period between April and August 31 is our biggest term for those children, which is why it has such a significant impact.”

Jayne said nursery owners were “hoping on the money”, which left an “uncomfortable taste in people’s mouths” and created issues of trust.

“We work around the fact that obviously we didn’t get the money, we were hoping for the money, and we had to make alternative arrangements.

“I’m at a point where it is what it is. We can’t wave a magic wand and make Hampshire change their mind, but it leaves a little bit of an uncomfortable taste in people’s mouths, given that we were supposed to be able to trust the council.

“We felt that we were left so alone, thinking one thing, and then having that change in the last minute when there was almost nothing anybody could have done about it.”

According to NDNA, another Hampshire nursery reported a £7,101 loss, saying it had a “major impact” on their ability to pay bills in September, when most children moved onto funded hours.

The Early Years Body is urging the council to repay providers using early years funding underspend from previous years.

They indicated that Hampshire reported a £1.38m underspend in 2022-23, and £194,000 underspend in 2023-24.

However, a Hampshire County Council spokesperson said that the full amount of the early years funding has been distributed to all eligible providers and has “not withheld any funding”.

The spokesperson clarified that the early years’ funding underspend forms part of the Dedicated Schools Grant as a whole, “which is at a significant deficit overall”.

The spokesperson added: “An initial communication was sent to providers advising that the funding would be awarded in the summer term.

“It became clear that providers had understood this to mean that funding would be based on summer term attendance.

“We then issued a follow up communication clarifying that payments had been calculated on spring data but would be received in the summer and apologising for any confusion. Spring data was used because this was available at the time, whereas summer data was not.

“We are reviewing our processes to ensure clearer communication moving forward.”