Government nursery provision is available for children aged 3 - 5. Local Authorities (LAs) are not obliged to support visually impaired children under the age of 3 and when they do, the children are often placed in mainstream nurseries. These nurseries are usually not able to provide disabled children with the specialist education essential to ensure that they get the best start in life. Some LAs run special-needs nurseries, but none provide specific facilities for visually impaired children.

Occasionally LAs do fund places at Dorton House Nursery but this is rare, so the financial burden falls on families. Most families struggle with the payments and are often hand to mouth, fundraising on a weekly basis to provide for their child. The Assisted Placement Scheme has been established to provide life-changing opportunities, whereby a visually impaired child aged 2-5 genuinely in need of funding support, can access the specialist education our Nursery has to offer.