Nursery Education (Hansard, 9 January 1996)

§ Mr. Harry Greenway
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on progress on provision of nursery education for all four-year-olds. [4126]

§ Mr. Robin Squire
[pursuant to his reply, 13 December 1995, Official Report c. 701]: I said that the Government had consulted on a number of issues related to the operation of the scheme and would publish their conclusions early in the new year.
The Government are today publishing the document "Nursery Education Scheme: The Next Steps". In parallel with this, the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority is publishing its document "Nursery Education: Desirable Outcomes for Children's Learning on Entering Compulsory Education".
The two documents outline the quality assurance arrangements for the nursery voucher scheme. They cover inspection, including the frequency of inspection and an inspection framework based on the SCAA's learning outcomes; entry to the scheme; staff, qualifications and training; the length of sessions; premises and equipment; the publication of information for parents; and special educational needs.
Copies of a pack containing the documents have been placed in the Vote Office and Library. Copies are being distributed to nursery education providers, local authorities, education bodies and other interests.
The Government and the SCAA are grateful to all those who responded to the consultation papers. Careful consideration was given to all comments received.

§ Mr. Keen
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the average cost per pupil of existing local authority nursery education provision in the United Kingdom. [8277]

§ Mr. Squire
The average unit cost per full-time equivalent pupil for those categories of under-fives provision for which estimates are available for England are given in the table. Corresponding figures are not available on a United Kingdom basis.
146W

1993–94 estimates; England only

£

Nursery schools 3,250

Nursery classes in primary schools 2,660

Primary classes including under 5s 1,590

Average 2,040

1993–94 estimates; England only
	£
Nursery schools	3,250
Nursery classes in primary schools	2,660
Primary classes including under 5s	1,590
Average	2,040