Education scheme cash 'shortfall'

There are fears the Foundation Phase will not be properly funded

A flagship programme to transform education for very young children in Wales could be massively underfunded, according to senior council officials.

A report seen by BBC Wales' Dragon's Eye programme says the Welsh Assembly Government's funding plans are flawed.

The document says millions of pounds for an early learning project called Foundation Phase will not be new money.

Education Minister Jane Hutt said £107m of funding would be used for the project over three years.

But the report by the Association of Directors of Education in Wales (ADEW) says only £41m of this is new money.

The Foundation Phase has been described as one of the biggest changes in early years learning in a generation.

It is designed to focus on learning through play for children aged three to seven, and improve staff to pupil ratios.

The project is designed to focus on learning through play

It is currently being piloted and will be rolled out across Wales in September.

But the ADEW report says the Welsh Assembly Government "underestimated" the number of additional staff needed for the Foundation Phase.

It estimates that in Swansea alone they will be short of 80 staff in the first year of the programme.

According to ADEW, every local authority in Wales is reporting a shortfall in funding for year one of the scheme.

Worst hit is Cardiff, which is short of £1.6m, followed by Powys, which is short of £1m. ADEW estimate the national shortfall for 2008-9 will be up to 50% (£12.5m).

David Pedwell, head teacher of Oakfield Primary in Cardiff, says the initiative is being "significantly underfunded" and he will not be able to match the standards set in the pilot schools.

Ms Hutt said: "It was a tight budget but I got £107m just for the foundation phase - special grants not going to anything else over the next three years."

Dragon's Eye is on Thursday at 2100GMT on BBC 2W and at 2235 on BBC1 Wales.