NDNA Chief Executive Purnima Tanuku OBE reacted to claims made by University of Oxford report that children at PVI nurseries in disadvantaged areas receive lower quality care.
"The majority of PVI nursery provision is rated good or outstanding and is staffed by experiencedstaff trained in early years development.
"We wholeheartedly welcome the report's recommendations that nurseries should increase the number of graduates they employ and it is critical they get the support to do this. We know the long term benefits to having high quality staff working directly with children but the biggest barrier nurseries face in employing graduate staff is cost.
"Government funded places lose nurseries on average more than £900 per child, per year. This level of financial loss makes it a challenge for providers to afford to employ graduates. To overcome these issues the Government needs to look at overhauling the whole funding system and making sure the money for free entitlement is ring-fenced with the full amount going to frontline staff.
"It is also to be hoped the pupil premium, when it comes into force, will go some way to helping nurseries in disadvantaged areas close the funding gap and employ more qualified staff."