BRADFORD West MP Naz Shah has called the district's maintained nursery schools the "jewel in the crown" of local education, and called for more protection for them from any funding cuts.

Naz Shah recently met with heads and governors from local nurseries after government proposals to shake up how nurseries are funded in the coming years were announced.

The central Government changes will see the district get an extra £600,000 to fund places for two-year-olds. But at the same time, a reduction in funding for places for three and four-year-olds will see the area losing out on over £3 million of funding.

Although the government has announced that additional funding for maintained (council run) nursery schools will continue at least until the end of this Parliament (2019-20), there are fears that beyond this date their future is less certain.

Although Bradford struggles in some areas of education, its council run nurseries are all rated as either good or outstanding.

Ms Shah said: “Maintained nursery schools are the jewel in the crown of Bradford Education. Having met with local head teachers and governors, I know that this is a quality provision that we cannot afford to lose.

“We have a cluster of excellent providers in Bradford West, they support some of the most vulnerable children in the city and are the bedrock of an infrastructure of early-years excellence.

“The local nursery schools have been working hard to raise this issue, but so far the government have still yet to offer a genuine solution, only a small reprieve.

“It is time that government recognised the immense contribution nursery schools provide in constituencies like mine and funded them properly.

“These are expert institutions that have a genuine impact on social mobility, and we must ensure this is a service that is not watered down but allowed to flourish as the models of excellence that they are.”

Sharon Hogan, head at Midland Road Nursery School and Lister Park Children’s Centre Cluster, said: “Bradford’s Nursery School Headteachers and Governors have been increasingly concerned regarding the impact of funding reforms on Nursery Schools in Bradford.

“They have really appreciated the support of Naz Shah who has not only grasped the seriousness of the situation they are in but is making such efforts to try and secure their future.”

Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for Education has said of the changes: "Our proposals to improve the way we allocate funding have been positively received, with strong agreement that funding must be allocated through a clear and transparent funding formula, and must reach front line early years providers.

"I recognise that these are ambitious changes and I am heartened by the widespread support we received for our proposals to improve the early years funding system. I am confident that they will result in providers being in a stronger position to deliver the free entitlements on a sustainable basis."

Bradford Council’s Executive for Education, Employment and Skills Councillor Imran Khan said: “More than half of the nursery schools in our district are judged to be outstanding with the others all judged to be good, providing children with an excellent foundation to their education.

“We do welcome the government’s announcement that supplementary funding for nursery schools is to be extended for the next three years but we would urge them to provide further clarity about their future funding.

“The Department for Education has recently written to local authorities urging us to make use of the experience and expertise of nursery schools. We will be meeting with the headteachers and governing bodies of our nursery schools in the Bradford district to explore this further.”