'Savage and short-sighted': Corby's Pen Green Centre facing catastrophic funding cut

Its core funding could drop by as much as 78 per cent, which would decimate its services
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Corby's world-leading Pen Green Centre says its services would be decimated and more than 50 jobs could be lost if 'savage' proposals to redirect its funding go through.

The Rockingham Road early years centre, which is lauded for its work with children and their families, is facing losing up to 78 per cent of its core funding with North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) instead allocating thousands of pounds to three other nurseries in a bid to make it 'more equal'.

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In a worst-case scenario its core funding level would reduce from £1,027,620 to just £228,838 - a proposal Pen Green say is savage and short-sighted.

A Pen Green spokesman told the Northants Telegraph: "This would decimate Pen Green leading to job cuts, perhaps upwards of 50, and a devastating loss of services to children and the local community that have been present for 39 years.

"Nowhere in the authority’s proposal is there a clear case as to why funding should be reduced or indeed potentially removed.

"Nothing has been written about why they consider Pen Green’s funding to be excessive. Nothing suggests that the money represents poor value and there is no suggestion that the quality of our services is less than outstanding."

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In 1983, as a model of innovation, Pen Green Centre was established as a fully integrated centre with a multi-disciplinary staff team and has always been funded accordingly, despite facing many attempts over previous decades to cut its funding.

Pen Green Centre for Children and FamiliesPen Green Centre for Children and Families
Pen Green Centre for Children and Families

They offer a nursery school, early years places, parent and child groups and support, special educational needs support, a research and development base and a teaching school.

In 2017 the Department for Education (DfE) recognised the unique nature of the county's two integrated centres and made an implicit funding arrangement to protect Pen Green and Northampton's Camrose Centre’s core integrated services budget.

When North Northamptonshire Council was formed last year nurseries continued to be funded in the same way. But they're now proposing to distribute the funds more evenly between Pen Green and three other maintained nurseries - Kettering's Ronald Tree and Wellingborough's Croyland and Highfield nurseries.

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This would be based only on part-time nursery places and participation hours, despite Pen Green also offering a breadth of work and services that other nurseries do not. Matters are made worse by NNC's deficit of £310,816.

Pen Green Centre, pictured in 2011.Pen Green Centre, pictured in 2011.
Pen Green Centre, pictured in 2011.

Most Government funding pots are led by data and formulas and NNC say the current funding distribution is not in line with DfE guidance.

Pen Green currently gets 85 per cent of the maintained nursery supplement (MNS). A report discussed at the Northamptonshire's schools forum last month said it had 36 per cent of the participation hours across the four nurseries, but did not take into account its other services.

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Three proposals for funding distribution are now being considered, with one to match the funding distribution to the participation hours for each nursery. Under this Pen Green's funding share would drop from £1,027,620 to £228,838 - a decrease of 78 per cent. Funding for Ronald Tree in Kettering would more than double from £60,112 to £154,447.

A march against cuts to the Pen Green Centre in 2011.A march against cuts to the Pen Green Centre in 2011.
A march against cuts to the Pen Green Centre in 2011.

A second proposal would see Pen Green's share drop to £336,146. The third proposal, the best-case scenario currently on the table for Pen Green, would see it drop to £446,102 which is still less than half of its current core funding.

The Pen Green spokesman added: "We would call for the local authority to retract its proposal and return the funding allocation to that previously outlined by the Department for Education, recognising the additional services provided by Pen Green as an integrated centre as well as its role as a maintained nursery school, thereby safeguarding essential services to children and the local community."

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Parent Alex Lock, 33, moved to the town from Bedford last year and takes his daughter Maddison, aged 16 months, to the Corby centre. He described the proposal to take funding away from Pen Green as short-sighted.

He said: "We did not get anything near the service that we get at Pen Green in Bedford. It's world-leading.

"Pen Green shows the real community spirit in Corby and in a town that has its challenges education is key.

"If centres need more funding then they should be given more funding, but that shouldn't be from others. We just need politicians to be braver about it."

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A consultation on early years funding ends tomorrow (Thursday). You can have your say here.

Cllr Scott Edwards, North Northamptonshire Council’s executive member for children, families, education and skills, said: “The council is currently undertaking a consultation process to guide its decision making process around the distribution of the maintained nursery supplementary grant. This grant is provided by the DfE and its use is subject to a regulatory framework.

“The allocation of MNS grant to North Northants from DfE for 2022/23 is £933,309. This must be used to support provision for children at all four maintained nursery schools in North Northants.

“A report was taken to the February meeting of the North Northants Schools Forum that set out options for how the grant could be utilised as equitably as possible within these regulations. Due to the historic way in which the grant has been used in Northamptonshire, this included mitigation to reduce the impact on individual schools in any one year.

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“The consultation process ends on March 3 and the outcomes of this will be presented to the next meeting of the Schools Forum on March 17. The views of the forum will then be considered by the council as part of the decision making process.”

The schools forum is made up of a group of headteachers from across the county and has no input from elected councillors.

Corby MP Tom Pursglove has been contacted for comment.