Labour Party Conference: breakfast clubs and nurseries in schools
Government ministers announced various policies at the annual conference which will impact on nurseries in England.
These include business rates reform, breakfast clubs in all primary schools and new nurseries in schools.
Early years was a hot topic, discussed in many of the fringe events.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the review of business rates in her speech early on in the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.
Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) was at the conference with Vice Chair of Trustees Jane Haywood. She told the media: “We welcome the Chancellor’s pledge of a full business rates review and would ask her to specifically look at the business rates burden that nurseries currently face across England.
“It’s vital that private early education and care providers are given relief from paying these unfair rates which penalise places which have room for children to grow, play and develop. The average business rates bill for nurseries is now £21,000, higher in big cities. Our member nurseries told us that this money could be reinvested in their workforce development which is a major priority at a time of staff shortages.
“The social good that nurseries do in supporting our children’s development and learning is recognised in Scotland and Wales where nurseries do not have to pay any business rates. It’s time all childcare providers had a level playing field where private providers are treated the same as schools and maintained nurseries.”
The Chancellor also announced that Labour’s plan to put a breakfast club in all primary schools in England will start in April 2025. This roll-out will begin with a £7m pilot featuring around 750 schools who will be “early adopters”.
The DfE has already issued updated guidance on the expansion of wraparound care which includes a section in the local authority guidance about involving the PVI sector:
“The PVI sector is critical to the successful delivery of the programme. PVI providers represent a significant proportion of the market, they are experts in the field, and they have a wealth of resources and experience. Local authorities should work closely with the PVIs working in their area, not only on existing wraparound provision but also those offering holiday provision, including HAF, seek out others who may be looking to expand into their area, and identify what role they can play in the expansion of wraparound.”
Purnima said: “It’s great to see the Government acknowledging the wonderful contributions of the PVI sector. We hope to see local authorities engaging actively with providers at a local level.”
Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson spoke with passion in her conference speech about how “education is so much more than the classroom” and “so much depends on the crucial early years.”
She announced that the Labour plan for 3,000 nurseries in schools to support the childcare expansion would begin from September 2025, with an initial 300 schools being involved. They will put out a call-out later this month for schools with empty classrooms and those chosen will receive funding from April 2025.
Purnima who listened to her speech said: “It is really reassuring to hear the Secretary of State for Education in her conference speech highlighting the importance of early education and care to give the best life chances to all children and work choices for parents. We are pleased that she will be making early education a priority with a child-centred approach.
“We welcome her commitment and passion for early years and we hope that the sector will be engaged to deliver the expansion plan. It’s good news about bringing forward the breakfast clubs in primary schools, a number of PVI providers already deliver this in schools and nurseries across the country, serving healthy nutritious meals to many children.
“The announcement of 300 nurseries in schools from September next year needs to be planned properly to avoid any unintended consequences. The early years sector is already struggling with a workforce crisis and underfunding of places for three and four-year-old children. Qualified early years practitioners have been leaving the profession over the last few years.
“Robust childcare sufficiency planning must be used to identify a need for more places in an area so nurseries are created where they are needed, not because a school has an empty classroom. Any new nursery must not threaten the sustainability of provision which already exists in that locality, nor displace staff from existing nurseries.
“It’s crucial that working parents have access to childcare provision which is flexible and is open all year round rather than just during school term time. Many PVI providers – who already deliver three quarters of the country’s childcare places – are keen to expand but have been unable to get any capital grant funding. This situation should be addressed immediately to create a level playing field for all providers to meet the demand.”
We will bring you further details of these plans once they are announced.
- England
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