These include options to bring funding systems for maintained and PVI settings more in line so local authorities can fit the market to parents'
childcare needs.
There are also proposals to increase the role of the early years sector in decision-making at local authority level with more representation on schools forums.
Speaking about the commitment to increasing the free entitlement to 15 hours, children's minister Beverley Hughes said, 'We need to make sure the funding arrangements can allow parents to take advantage of this increased flexibility.'
The consultation sets out how local authorities currently distribute funding for early years to maintained and PVI providers and puts forward a number of options towards a 'unified early years funding system'.
It cites a survey of 46 local authorities, where 24 of them funded maintained settings on the basis of numbers of children at the time of the January pupil count, while six used a combination of places and pupil numbers. PVI settings were usually funded on the actual provision taken up, broken down into sessions.
The consultation says, 'This suggests that many local authorities are not using the flexibilities for funding under-five provision that are already available in the school funding system. This may be because there are practical barriers to implementing more sophisticated counting regimes in schools, such as concerns about consistency of data and additional bureaucracy.'
Steve Alexander, chief executive of the Pre-School Learning Alliance, said, 'We are strongly in favour of the proposal to create a single funding formula for all providers to deliver the free entitlement. This will eradicate the discrepancies that currently exist between the maintained and the private, voluntary and independent sectors.'
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said, 'We hope this consultation will highlight how many providers are finding the funding they receive for the scheme unworkable, and how more funding and clear mechanisms are needed for local authorities so that they can ensure providers in the PVI sectors can continue to provide free sessions.'
Respond to the Consultation on School, Early Years and 14-16 finding, 2008-11 at www.dfes. gov.yk/consultations by Friday 21 June.
KEY QUESTIONS INTHECONSULTATION
* Do you agree that local authorities should introduce a standardised method for calculating the unit of funding for early years provision in maintained and PVI settings for the coming Comprehensive Spending Review?
* Do you agree that local authorities should use the same methods to calculate pupil numbers in maintained and PVI settings for the coming CSR?
* Do you agree that we should retain a single budget calculation point for early years provision in the maintained sector?
