PVI
Private, voluntary and independent providers: the nurseries, pre-schools and childminders that are not run by a school or council
By The Toddly editorial team · Last updated 11 November 2026
PVI is the term councils and the Department for Education use for early years providers outside the state school system. Private nurseries are run as businesses, from single sites to large chains; voluntary settings are run by charities or parent committees, such as many community pre-schools; independent covers settings attached to independent schools. Most funded hours in England are delivered by PVI providers, which receive an hourly rate from the council for each funded hour. School-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools are the other main group and are funded slightly differently.