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DfE to repurpose unused school spaces for childcare

1 min read Early Years
The Department for Education has revealed plans to pilot the use of surplus school spaces to offer childcare provision as part of its expansion of funded hours.
If successful, the pilot will be fully rolled out before September 2025. Picture: Adobe Stock/oksix
If successful, the pilot will be fully rolled out before September 2025. Picture: Adobe Stock/oksix

The pilot, beginning this summer, will explore how unused school space can be repurposed to support childcare settings and offer more places.

It comes as part of the rollout of the government's funded childcare expansion which allows all eligible two-year-olds of working parents to access 15 hours of funded care per week, increasing to 30 hours per week for children aged nine months and above from September 2025.

The pilot will match a small number of private, voluntary, or independent childcare providers with surplus school and college spaces.

If the pilot is successful, the government will roll it out nationally before September 2025 to fast-track the childcare process for providers, schools and colleges.

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