School-based nurseries: how does it all work?

Funding for primary schools to set up nurseries has been more than doubled to £37 million. But how does the funding work, and what, realistically, will school-based nurseries look like? EB explains the funding and explores some primary schools set to implement them

School-based nurseries, that is, nurseries set up in empty primary school classrooms, have made the headlines as of late, following the government’s recent announcement of the first 300 primary schools that have received the first round of capital funding to make this manifesto proposal a reality. But how does the funding work, and what, realistically, will school-based nurseries look like? 

The push for more early years provision

School-based nurseries first appeared as a commitment in Labour’s manifesto leading up to the General Election through its pledging to open “3,000 nurseries through upgrading space in primary schools”. Now, we know this to mean utilising and repurposing empty rooms in classrooms, which is what the recent capital funding has given selected schools the ability to do.
In 2024, England currently had just 381 maintained nursery schools, which are also known as state-funded nursery schools, and 64 per cent of these are located in the 30 per cent most deprived areas in England.

A greater focus on early years education directly ties into inadequate school readiness and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision, both of which are exacerbated in more disadvantaged mainstream schools. Kindred’s 2024 School Readiness Survey (published 2025), found that 30 per cent of Reception children were unable to communicate their needs and 25 per cent did not have basic language skills, according to 1,000 Reception teachers. Not only did almost half (49 per cent) of primary school teachers report that the school readiness problem was worse than the year before, both school staff and parents largely ascribed this to socio-economic factors, such as parents working longer hours, rising costs of childcare, and rising levels of deprivation in the UK. Over 80 per cent of parents have said they have struggled to access early years education and childcare services, making the need for accessible provision more urgent than ever.

School-based nurseries underpinned Labour’s fourth milestone in its Plan for Change: Breaking Down the Barriers to Opportunity, where the party promised to support new and expanded school-based nurseries, as well as offer 30 hours of free childcare a week for working parents of three-to-four-year-olds.

What has the government done so far?

In October 2024, the government announced £15 million of funding up for grabs for primary schools to bid for, as the first stage of the government’s mission to deliver 3,000 school-based nurseries. Primary schools could apply for grants for up to £150,000 to be used to prepare their empty classrooms to be used as early years provision. 

At the time, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “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.”

The government also published data that revealed that around half of local areas were behind in nursery facilities, with some local areas needing an uplift of more than 20 per cent in areas like Northumberland and Rotherham.

In April 2025, the first 300 primary schools to receive funding to develop school-based nurseries were announced, with each site offering an average of 20 places. This is up to 6,000 new places in total, and 4,000 of these are set to be available for children at the end of September 2025. Over 600 schools applied for funding and, of the successful 300, 174 already had some form of nursery provision in place.

Alongside this announcement came the news that the government had doubled funding up to £37 million, while keeping the number of winning schools and grant amounts the same; Schools Week hypothesised this suggests schools applied for more funding than was anticipated. Coupled with 30 hours of government-funded childcare each week available to working parents, the additional early years provision from school-based nurseries could save parents up to £7,500, according to the government. Parents can also save an additional £450 per year in childcare if they take their child to a free breakfast club each school morning.

What benefits do school-based nurseries offer?

The government claims that school-based early education tends to more inclusive as these services have a higher proportion of children with special educational needs enrolled than other settings. Indeed, school-based nurseries have the additional benefit for children with SEND as, should they attend the same primary school, teachers and educational providers would have a headstart on being able to address their needs and better support them as they progress through the school years, ensuring adequate provision is in place by the time they start Reception.

School-based nurseries present benefits to all children that continue on at that same primary school, as on-site early years provision helps build stronger relations between nursery and school staff, ultimately resulting in smoother transitions for children as they move into school.

School-based nurseries also benefit parents by providing a single point of contact, meaning they would be able to pick up their toddler and older children from the same place, and the continuity of care that school-based nurseries provide would also help parents, easing the stress that comes as children adjust to school.

The winning schools

The 300 schools to benefit from the funding are located across England – from Essex to County Durham, with a particular focus on the North and the Midlands. Indeed, one in ten places have gone to a school in the North East. 

Whitkirk Primary School in Leeds was awarded £146,980.79 to offer 26 nursery places for three-year-olds in a school-based nursery. This makes Whitkirk Primary School one of seven schools in Leeds to have been selected to receive this funding.

Woodlands Primary in Whitby was also among the selected 300 schools, as well 42 schools across the North West, including St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School in Coppull, and Woodchurch Road Academy in Oxton. 

Thornhill Primary School, in partnership with Changing Lives Learning Trust, was awarded a £150,000 grant, one of two in Cumberland, to increase its early years educational capacity and existing nursery provision. The money will go towards transforming the outdoor space, making structurally improvements, and expanding the number of spaces available in the nursery for two- and three-year-olds. L