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Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: 

"It is hugely frustrating - and frankly, insulting - to see yet another announcement of additional support for maintained nursery schools while the government continues to turn a blind eye to the huge challenges facing private and voluntary providers across the country.

"When the early years national funding formula was introduced, the government introduced universal base rates of funding on the basis that 'the costs of providing childcare are broadly comparable for a private nursery, a charitable pre-school or a school nursery class'. How, then, can it now argue that maintained settings need more financial support than the rest of the sector?

"At a time when many of the tens of thousands of PVI providers currently operating are struggling to stay afloat in the face of continued underfunding and the impact of Covid-19, such unbalanced treatment of the sector is simply unacceptable. The government must commit to ensuring that all early years providers, whether maintained or PVI, receive the funding that they need to remain viable in the long term."