Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she proposes to open consultation on the future of maintained nursery schools.

Maintained nursery schools are an important part of the early years system. We are working with maintained nursery schools, through the All Party Parliamentary Group on Nursery Schools and Nursery Classes and directly with nursery schools and local authorities. This will inform the content of our consultation on the future of maintained nursery schools, which will be launched in due course.