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School-based nurseries rollout
The government has pledged to create more childcare places in England by creating 3,300 school-based nurseries costing £140m.
England already has 381 maintained nursery schools also known as state-funded nursery schools. In addition it has around 7,500 primary schools which have early years classes, which are led by teachers and are part of the school.
In order to create these 3,300 settings, the government has said it plans to use spare rooms in primary schools for early education.
Schools are being asked to bid for a share of the first wave of capital funding so they can convert their empty classrooms rooms into an environment suitable for children under 5.
The money for these new early years settings is being generated by ending tax breaks for private schools.
When will the new nurseries open?
The first round of 300 successful schools will be given a share of £15m funding in Spring 2025. Schools can apply for up to £150,000 of funding.
It is expected that the first 300 school-based nurseries will open in September 2025. Some will only offer early years education for children aged three and four while some will offer childcare for a wider age range. The age range will depend on each individual nursery.
Eligible working parents of children from nine months will also be able to claim 30 hours free childcare from September 2025. The hope is that these nurseries will boost the number of childcare places on offer to accommodate the extra demand.
The Department for Education (DfE) said half of local areas need to boost their childcare provision by between 10% and 20% to meet the increased demand in September 2025. Some areas need an uplift of more than 20%. These are areas with traditionally lower household incomes such as Northumberland, Plymouth and Rotherham.
Where will they be?
The government has said the nurseries will be located in ‘childcare deserts’ where there is currently a shortage of early years provision.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:
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.”
Schools that already have nurseries attached to them will be able to expand and bid for more funding to help them do this. These expanded nurseries will be part of the first 300 nurseries in a school.
Who will run the new nurseries?
The school will run the nursery or a private or voluntary provider or a childminder will be asked to run it.
How many state-funded nursery schools are there currently?
There are currently 381 maintained nursery schools also known as state-funded nursery schools in England. They are situated in some of the most deprived areas in England.
In 2023, the 381 maintained nursery schools provided 44,500 funded entitlement places for two, three and four-year-olds for the 15 and 30 hours, according to the British Association for Early Childhood Education.
Maintained nursery schools have decades of experience in working with multiple agencies and different professional teams so they can meet children’s needs in terms of health, housing, social care and poverty.
They have the highest proportion of children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities). In 2023, 29% of children in maintained nursery schools had SEND. This compares to 12% of all other providers and 6% of childminders.
Pros and cons of nurseries in a school
- Being located in the school will make the transition from nursery to school a lot easier and smoother for children as they will remain in familiar surroundings.
- Parents could find drop offs and pick ups easier if they have other children at the school.
- Children will also be able to benefit from the resources, facilities and staff from the primary school.
- On the downside, school-based nurseries may follow the term-times of primary schools and only offer childcare and early years education during the school term.