School nursery drive hits providers serving disadvantaged children, claim sector leaders

23 April 3 mins read Joanne Parkes Early Years Education

Nurseries that cater for children with additional needs and from economically disadvantaged homes are among the settings being affected by government moves to expand school-based provision, a sector association has claimed.

Rebecca Stanford-Durdan manages St Michael's Playgroup, which is due to leave its base at Finedon Infant School in Northants in July

The Early Years Alliance is probing the wider impact on private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nurseries after receiving a string of reports from existing providers that their primary school hosts have terminated their leases since the launch of the £37 million policy.

The government has described the proposed 3,000 new or expanded school-based nurseries as being at the “heart” of its 'Plan for Change' and earlier this month, the Department for Education announced capital grant funding for the first wave of 300 such settings. These are intended to provide 4,000 places by September 2025, in preparation for the full rollout of the 30-hours funded childcare expansion.

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