Ministers are now pushing ahead with phase two of its school-based nursery plan, which will prioritise bids from schools serving some of the most disadvantaged communities
More than 180 new school-based nurseries will be up and running this month – with another 120 to be opened over the next year.
Over 4,000 kids will benefit from the extra places available across 189 premises in England this month. Ministers are now pushing ahead with phase two of its plan, which will prioritise bids from schools serving some of the most disadvantaged communities.
Later this month, schools will be invited to bid for up to £150,000 from a £45million pot to create a further 300 new or expanded school-based nurseries for next year. It is a boost in funding from the £37million pledged for the first year of the nursery scheme.
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New guidance for schools will be published at midday today on how to bid for a nursery on their site.
The Department for Education said children growing up in the same nursery and primary schools means they can thrive in “an environment they trust”. It also said it can help parents who are struggling with drop-offs of multiple children to different places in the morning.
Keir Starmer has made it his mission to improve the futures of Britain’s children under his Best Start in Life campaign. Writing for The Mirror on Monday, the PM hailed the government’s major expansion of childcare support.
He also pointed to Labour ’s announcements to expand free school meals, cut uniform costs for parents and for an £88million investment in extracurricular activities.
From this week, eligible families with children aged nine months to four years have been able to access 30 hours of free childcare a week.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “School-based nurseries can offer a nurturing and stable environment for children that carries through into primary, and a helping hand for working parents tackling dual drop off.
“Delivering more school-based nurseries – under our Best Start umbrella – means more choice and convenience for parents, and more opportunities to target parts of the country where families are most in need of additional support.”
Chief executive at Working Families Jane van Zyl said: “Any expansion in the provision of funded childcare places is good news for families. It will help ease the financial pressure many parents face and enable more, particularly mothers, to return to work or increase their hours.
“For parents with school age children, co-located nursery provision can make daily logistics more manageable, which makes a real difference to working lives.”
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