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Schools now able to apply for share of £15m funding to open nurseries

Primary schools wanting to open or expand nurseries can now apply for up to £150,000 of £15 million Government capital funding, under the first stage of the plan to open 300 school-based nurseries.
PHOTO: Adobe Stock

Making the announcement today (17 October), the Department for Education (DfE) said it expects the funding, available under the first stage of the Government’s school nurseries policy to set-up to 300 new or expanded settings, to be allocated to successful schools in Spring 2025 to support delivery for the first cohort of places for the September rollout of the expanded offer.

It claims that school-based nurseries currently look after more children with special educational needs and offer a higher number of places in the most deprived areas. Also, they have lower turnover and the option to use some staff more flexibly between Reception and early primary.

According to the DfE, 321,462 additional children are now accessing the 15 funded hours which opened to parents of nine-month-olds last month.

It says that delivery of this phase has been in ‘no small part due to the brilliant joined-up efforts of local authorities and providers’, and comes as the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has promised a ‘new era of child-centred Government’. She has promised to work alongside the sector to deliver ‘meaningful’ long-term reform of early years, while building the places and workforce required for the next ‘more challenging phase’ of the expanded offer.

Projections on places and staff

The DfE has also published its latest projections on how many additional places and staff will be needed to deliver the full rollout of the 30 expanded hours, they reveal:

  • Around 70,000 additional places are needed and 35,000 early years educators.
  • Around half of local areas need to increase their capacity by between 10 and 20 per cent to meet demand for September.
  • Some areas, including those with traditionally lower household incomes – Northumberland, Plymouth and Rotherham - needing to increase their childcare capacity by more than 20 per cent.

It says that providers and schools are urged to consider the latest data in their bids for the school-based nurseries programme, with local authorities to outline how proposals will respond to local need.

Funding will be available to projects that are school-run or delivered by private and voluntary providers or childminders.

Schools who are interested in expanding but are not currently ready to apply will be able to register an interest for future phases of the programme.

‘Our new school-based nurseries will provide thousands of additional places where they are needed most'.

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.

‘While 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.’

The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) raised concerns of its members that additional funding for schools could be used to ‘displace’ existing high-quality provision nearby.

Chief executive Purnima Takuku said that there must be ‘evidence of demand and robust efficiency assessments’ to make sure the needs of local families are met, otherwise the unintended consequence could be a reduction in choice and availability of places.

The Early Years Alliance (EYA) stressed that school-based nurseries can ‘only ever be one small part of a much wider strategy.’

 

 



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