Government supports building of new nurseries with boost in funding

Primary schools can now apply for up to £150,000 of £15 million capital funding, with the first stage of the plan set to support up to 300 new or expanded nurseries across England.

The work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which aims to break the unfair link between background and opportunity – starting with giving every child the best start in life and resetting the relationship with the early years sector to boost life chances for children and work choices for parents.

By joining efforts with local authorities and providers, the secretary of state has promised a "new era of child-centred government" and will work alongside the sector to deliver long-term reform of early years, while building the places and workforce that are required for the next more challenging phase.

The government will be engaging with local authorities and providers to clarify their statutory guidance on charging, including on so-called ‘top up fees’ and consider how they could better support local authorities to protect parents from overcharging.

Education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said: "All children should have the opportunity of a brilliant early education, no matter who they are, where they’re from or how much their parents earn.

"Our new school-based nurseries will provide thousands of additional places where they are needed most, plugging historic gaps and making sure geography is no barrier to high quality childcare.

"Whilst some parents may not get their first-choice place next September, I’m determined that every parent is able to access and afford the hours that they are entitled to."

According to the Department for Education’s latest projections, around 70,000 additional places and 35,000 early years educators will still be needed to deliver the expansion to 30 hours next September, with some of the most disadvantaged areas in need of the largest uplifts.

Published for the first time, the projections show that around half of local areas need to increase their capacity by between 10 per cent and 20 per cent to meet demand for September.

School-based nurseries currently have lower turnover and the option to use some staff more flexibly between reception and early primary, and the government is working with the early years sector through our expanded recruitment campaign to attract more people to a career in early years.

The school-based nursery funding will be available to projects that are school-run or delivered by private and voluntary providers or childminders.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leader’ union, NAHT said: "School-based nurseries play a vital role in the early years sector. It makes sense that where there is spare capacity in schools and demand in the local area, that the government looks to expand school-based provision.

"It will be important that interested schools are well supported through this process, both practically and financially, and that the government continues to focus on building a strong and sustainable early years workforce."