Issued by: Department for Education

300 new school-based nurseries approved in first round of funding, delivering on manifesto pledge with massive boost to early education.

Families across the country are set to benefit from thousands of new nursery places from September, as the government delivers the change that people voted for by confirming the first wave of 300 school-based nurseries (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-based-nursery-capital-grant-application-outcomes).

The measures will help parents get to work, increasing access to childcare when they need it, and supports the government’s promise to put more cash in their pockets. The rollout of 30 government-funded hours of childcare (https://www.gov.uk/free-childcare-if-working/apply-for-free-childcare-if-youre-working) will save parents up to £7,500 on average, while £450 per year will be saved through free breakfast clubs in schools (https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2025/02/free-breakfast-club-roll-out-everything-you-need-to-know).

Funding for the programme has been more than doubled to £37 million — marking an important milestone in the expanded childcare rollout. Alongside introducing universal free breakfast clubs in all primary schools, the government’s plans will ensure children of all ages start the day ready to learn.

The new or expanded nurseries (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/establishing-school-based-nursery-provision) will ensure children can access high-quality early education and get the best start in life as part of the government’s Plan for Change, delivering on its manifesto pledge for thousands of school-based nurseries across the country by the end of this Parliament.

The first 300 school-based nurseries will be located in towns and cities across the country, from Exeter to North Tyneside. Overall, they will offer an average of 20 places per site and up to 6,000 new places in total, with up to 4,000 set to be available by the end of September.

School-based nurseries are already making a difference in communities across the country. The majority of new nurseries opening as part of this phase are in the North or Midlands, including around one in ten in the North East – increasing access to childcare in cold spots and supporting the communities that need it most.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:

"Delivering on our promise of a better early years system is my top priority, which is why we’ve more than doubled our investment in this first phase so thousands more children can benefit from a high-quality early education from this September.

"We said we’d act, and now we have. But this is just the beginning - we’ve set a hugely important milestone to get tens of thousands more children every year school-ready by age 5 as part of our Plan for Change.

"We’re raising the bar for early years, delivering on our manifesto commitments and building a system that gives every child the best start in life."

This comes as new research (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-experts-and-mentors-programme-evaluation) released last month shows that early education is vital for children’s development and school readiness, particularly for those who may need extra support.

School-based early education tends to be more inclusive (https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/10/nurseries-in-schools-everything-you-need-to-know) – with a higher proportion of children with special educational needs than other settings.

And in areas where deprivation is higher, having early years provision embedded within a primary school helps children settle into learning in a familiar and trusted environment.

According to the IFS, teachers report that this continuity supports children’s development, strengthens relationships with families, and leads to smoother transitions into Reception — helping to close development gaps before they widen.

Alex Armstrong, Headteacher at Bloemfontein Primary School who will be using their allocated funding to open a new baby room on site said:

"We wanted to address the shortage of nursery places in our local area and to provide the community with high-quality early education for our youngest learners. This funding will enable us to transform unused school space into an engaging and vibrant environment, offering year-round childcare for children from birth to five.

"There are so many benefits to school-based nursery provision, including continuity for children and their families and the opportunity to develop expert-led learning which will provide our children with strong foundations for lifelong success."

Jason Elsom, Chief Executive of Parentkind said:

"Parents often struggle with finding good quality childcare, and many will welcome this investment, especially as parents with more than one child may be saved from the mad dash from nursery to school in the morning and afternoon.

"With more reach into the lives of parents and schools than any other charity, we know that childcare is a major headache for parents with young children, from the exorbitant cost, to finding a reliable local place for their children.

"Some of the best performing schools are now expanding into early years to deliver an excellent education, and the School-Based Nursery Capital Grant will enable even more schools to help the children in their care to be school ready before moving from nursery to reception, giving them the best start in life."

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

"There should be no higher priority for government than investment in the early years. The evidence is clear that high quality early education can make a lasting difference to children’s lives, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

"It is therefore extremely positive to see the first wave of new and expanded school-based nurseries being announced today. Schools play a vital role in the early years ecosystem, and this should help strengthen that further."

Felicity Gillespie, Director of early years charity Kindred Squared:

"Quality early education has a disproportionately positive effect on disadvantaged children.

"Forty percent of the attainment gap we see in children aged sixteen is already evident at five years old, but children who attend high-quality settings for two to three years can be almost eight months ahead of children who do not attend nursery.

"So, this welcome investment by the Government in children’s futures is to be celebrated."

As part of wider work to break down barriers to opportunity for every family, from this week providers are due to benefit from the largest ever uplift to the Early Years Pupil Premium (https://www.gov.uk/get-extra-early-years-funding), helping ensure the most disadvantaged children are accessing the high-quality early years education they need. This is part of an over £2 billion extra investment going into the sector next year, bringing total investment to over £8 billion.

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