HUNDREDS of nursery schools are under threat from funding cuts and Government “neglect”, a North-East MP has warned.

Pat Glass, the North West Durham MP, said the centres – set up by local councils, often next to schools – delivered the highest standards of any branch of education.

In particular, they offered the best start for children from poorer homes and for those with disabilities or other special needs.

But, the Labour MP warned, 61 had closed since 2003 because they were expensive and because of pressure to expand reception classes and push children into schools earlier.

And she urged ministers: “Every Government say that they are not in the business of closing good schools - and yet that is precisely what is being allowed to happen.

“Nursery schools have provided the best educational outcomes of any model in the early-years sector for all children, particularly those who would be described as vulnerable or disadvantaged.

“That is why what happens to nursery schools now matters and why it is important that we intervene.”

The issue is already controversial in the North-East, after hospital bosses announced they were axing two day nurseries, in Stockton and Hartlepool.

The University Hospitals of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust said the nurseries – catering for up to 178 youngsters - were no longer economic to run.

During the Commons debate, that decision was attacked by Alex Cunningham, the Stockton North MP, who warned of the impact on children with special needs.

The Labour MP said Claire Guffick and Russ Andrews had found it was the only local nursery able to cater for their 16-month-old son Dylan, who has a severe form of eczema.

And he said: “That is all the more reason why that nursery should be saved - it caters for the very special needs of very special children.”

No fewer than 90 per cent of nursery schools are judged to be good or outstanding, a much higher proportion than for primary schools, Ms Glass said.

Yet a survey had found more than three quarters feared for their futures, or faced imminent loss of their independence.

However, they were “nowhere near as expensive as the experimental, untried and untested free schools programme that the Government are pushing so hard”.

In reply, education minister Sam Gyimah insisted his Government “fully support those schools” and played down talk of a gathering crisis.

He said: “The small number of closures that have happened are not necessarily a sign of a long-term trend.

“Some have merged or federated with neighbouring schools, so some of the reduction in the overall numbers - from 468 ten years ago, to 414 now - is down to sensible restructuring.”