Eight weeks for schools to apply for school-based nursery grant
The Department for Education is open for grant applications of up to £150,000 from state-funded schools to create a new nursery or expand an existing one. And they will be updating guidance on charging parents for meals and consumables.
This money is from a £15m pot which the Government believes could support 300 new school-based nurseries to make sure the early years sector can meet demand by September 2025.
Schools can either run the new nursery provision themselves or in partnership with the PVI sector. However, only schools can apply for the grant. They will need to show a need for new provision in their local area.
The DfE has confirmed that this is a “test and learn” phase – they will continue to work with the sector and representative bodies such as NDNA to make sure the plan is deliverable. NDNA has been clear that PVI nurseries must be included in this plan and no new nursery must make existing provision unsustainable.
They will also be consulting with the sector in the coming weeks on new guidance regarding charging parents for “extras” such as meals and consumables.
NDNA’s CEO Purnima Tanuku OBE, told the press: “New school based nurseries could help create new places for families in areas with insufficient capacity to meet demand. A number of PVI providers already deliver childcare in partnership with schools and it is important that they are part of this latest announcement.
“Creating spaces that are suitable and age-appropriate environments for younger children requires both investment and sufficient funding. High-quality provision comes at a cost and providers need sustainable funding rates for all aged children they educate and care for.
“However, there are real concerns that additional funding for schools could be used to displace existing high quality provision nearby. To make sure that the needs of local families are met, there must be robust sufficiency assessments in place, otherwise the unintended consequence could be a reduction in choice and availability of places.
“We are pleased that the Government is now calling the childcare entitlement ‘government-funded’ instead of ‘free’. Our research tells us that 83% of nurseries say their costs are higher than the funding for three and four-year-old places.
“The reality is that government funding has never been there to cover all aspects of an early education and care place. As a result, providers do need to charge parents for meals and other consumables that are not included in the funding rate. Any conditions put on providers to deliver this must be done in consultation with families and the sector to ensure fairness, consistency across local authorities and ensure sustainability of settings.”
The DfE put out this announcement regarding the school-based nursery funding and also the consultation with the sector and parents regarding charges
It reads: “Importantly, this will be done in a way that makes the hours accessible and affordable for all families that need them. That’s why the government is taking action to tackle reported instances of parents facing very high additional charges on top of the funded entitlement hours.
“These could include mandatory extra charges for nappies, lunch or other ‘consumables’ – and should not be made a condition of accessing a funded place.
“In the coming months, the government will be engaging with local authorities and providers to clarify our statutory guidance on charging, including on so-called ‘top up fees’ and consider how we 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.”
The DfE also confirmed that 87% of codes had been validated for September 2024 and 321,000 additional places for parents and their children.
Guidance for school-based nurseries
The School-Based Nursery Capital Grant guidance provides more information on the grant, its criteria and how schools apply.
The Establishing school-based nursery provision guidance provides more general, supporting guidance.
- England
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