Northampton nursery boss fearful over the future after receiving part of their funding for autumn term

A Northampton nursery is now running at a loss after only receiving part of their funding from the Government, which is paid to them by Northamptonshire County Council.

Before the pandemic, Blackthorn Good Neighbours Nursery had 76 children on its register. But since the new term in September began, staff are only seeing 50 youngsters walk through their doors each day.

Northamptonshire County Council is now only calculating the amount of money the nursery needs per head, meaning the childcare provider is working at a loss of £5,500 a month.

Hayley Walker, nursery manager, is concerned for the nursery's future if they are not given the full amount of money they received before the pandemic struck, as she still has the same overheads and number of staff to pay.

She said: “People are probably worried about sending their children to nursery, and I understand that, but we need to be able to continue running for when people need us.

“They would never cut schools funding, Early Years is an under-funded sector and people have the impression that we only wipe the children’s noses but we are here keeping them safe and making sure they are ready for school.”

The nursery, which has been open since 2015, works with vulnerable children and acts as a support network for their parents if they feel isolated or have money troubles.

Hayley added: “In the summer we would usually be recruiting new parents but this is our quietest term so far.

"If we can’t get our numbers up in the January term we are running at a loss for the whole year.”

On March 17, 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed the government would continue to pay local authorities for free early years entitlement places for 2-, 3 and 4 year-olds, which was extended in July through to the autumn, if children could not attend due to coronavirus.

Councillor Fiona Baker, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “For the Autumn Term, Northamptonshire County Council will be paying its early years providers through its normal monthly headcount submission.

“This means that actuals are paid to every provider matching attendance at their provision.

“The county council has had to take this position to protect the sector against a future financial shortfall which ultimately would have to impact future budgets, for example, through a potential reduction on the base rate issued to providers.

“We are currently modelling financial forecasts against the grant received from the government by reviewing the actual take up of the funding being claimed in the Autumn 2020 term. Any surplus realised will be passed to the sector as soon as we are sure that any action this term would not have a detrimental impact of future budgets to providers and settings.

“We have liaised with the Department for Education and they are aware of the position we have taken in regards to autumn funding.

“We absolutely understand that this has been a very difficult time for the sector and will return with an update as soon as we are able to do so.”