300 new state nurseries promised to meet childcare demands

The Education Secretary has pledged the introduction of 300 new state nurseries in England within the next 12 months.

Schools will be given funding to transform empty classrooms and spare spaces into new state nurseriesThe nurseries are set to open within English schools by next September to meet rising demand prompted by the introduction of free childcare for children from the age of 9 months.

The new Labour government have promised to fulfil plans for the extension of funded childcare made by the previous government and must now find places before next September, when all eligible parents will be able to claim 30 hours of free childcare for their children from the age of 9 months.

Empty classrooms to be converted into new state nurseries

The Education Secretary has said that empty classrooms in schools will be converted into new state nurseries to provide more childcare places across England.

Schools across the country have seen lower demand on school places, resulting in empty classrooms that Philipson has suggested will be transformed into state nurseries. She said in an interview that she would launch a callout this month for schools with empty classrooms to come forward.

Schools are keen to provide more nurseries and help prepare young children for schoolA press release from the Department for Education (DfE) said schools will be invited to bid for a share of £15 million capital funding, with capacity in the programme to deliver up to 300 new or expanded nurseries in this first round “by upgrading spare spaces in primary schools.”

Schools will need to demonstrate how their proposals will meet need in the local area. Successful schools will receive funding in Spring 2025 to support delivery of childcare places.

The release continued:

“This is the first step to delivering the government’s ambition for 3,000 new nurseries in primary schools, and long-term plan to make early years education and childcare more widely available, accessible, and high quality.”

Data suggests the introduction of free childcare for children aged 9 months and over will result in 80% of childcare costs being covered by the state. However, many in the early years and childcare sector have raised significant concerns about recruitment, availability of places and whether the funding is adequate.

Phillipson acknowledged that the government needed to “ramp up the number of staff,” and said they were focused on doing so, but warned parents that they might not get their first-choice childcare place.

State nurseries will help prepare children for school

She said there was “real enthusiasm” within primary schools to deliver new nurseries to help children prepare for school.

She explained:

“What schools say is that they know it makes a really big difference where children have had a high-quality early education when they arrive at school, and anything that they can do to support children to make progress ahead of starting formal education makes a big difference to what they’re able to do as a school.

“So there’s real enthusiasm to deliver more nursery classes within primaries from schools themselves and from school leaders. Often for parents who have already got children in school it’s incredibly convenient to be able to drop off your child at the same place, but also the connections a school can build, the progress a child can make when they are there for the year ahead of starting at school.”

Need for ‘wider reform’ in childcare

The education secretary acknowledged a need for wider reform of childcareCurrently, for many parents, the system of so-called “free” childcare hours involves them paying substantial top-up fees to private nurseries to plug the gap left by funding shortfalls. The funded hours also only apply to academic term-times, although many nurseries and other childcare settings allow parents to “stretch” the hours to receive fewer free childcare hours each week, but across the entire year.

Phillipson admitted she was “conscious that for many people the system still isn’t working as it should.”

The previous government introduced the significant expansion of the free childcare scheme after pressure from campaigners, who argue that more affordable childcare provision would help parents, and women in particular, to re-enter the workforce, addressing the gender pay gap and boosting the economy.

But Phillipson says that more nursery places for young children will also help to boost child development, as primary schools report rising cases of children arriving at school still not toilet trained and with significant language delays.

She said that investment in childcare must result in raising standards, “to make sure that children are arriving at school ready to learn, to make sure that staff have got the support they need, the training progression.”

She added:

“There is a need for wider reform alongside delivering the places that parents have been promised.”

Her pledges come as the NSPCC also calls for more investment in early years services to better protect very young children and babies from harm.

Training for early years and childcare

We provide training for nurseries and childcareFirst Response Training (FRT) is a leading, national training provider delivering a wide and diverse range of training courses. They can provide training in the fields of health and safetyfirst aidfire safetyfood safety, safeguarding, mental health, health and social care and other specialist subjects.

FRT work with hundreds of early years servicesschools and other childcare and support groups across the UK, providing them with high quality training to meet EYFS and Ofsted guidelines.

Their training courses for early years include Paediatric First AidSafeguarding Children and Youth Mental Health First Aid as well as Manual Handling, Health and Safety, Fire Safety, Food Safety, Equality and Diversity, SEND Awareness and many other topics.

A trainer from FRT says:

“Nurseries and other childcare providers do an essential job, helping to support parents and young families and nurture the youngest children, setting them off on their path of learning.

“It is vital that they are recognised for the important and difficult work they do. Early years and childcare staff should undergo regular training and development, and this can aid staff recruitment and retention, helping to ensure more children receive high quality care from infancy.”

For more information about the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.