Backed by £400 million capital investment, the school-based nursery programme will deliver tens of thousands of new places by expanding early education and childcare places where it is most needed. This will help more families access funded childcare and give children the best start in life.

The department has already made an impact, awarding £82 million in capital funding to more than 600 primary and maintained nursery schools, which is expected to deliver over 11,000 new nursery places by September 2027. This includes 3 schools in Fylde: Clifton Primary School, Singleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, and Treales Church of England Primary School.

Schools report that by the end of September 2026 450 new and expanded nurseries will have created over 9,000 new places since the start of the programme.

Local authorities have until 5pm on 30 September 2026 to submit their funding proposals for phase 3.

Backed by £400 million capital investment, the school-based nursery programme will deliver tens of thousands of new places by expanding early education and childcare places where they are most needed, helping more families to access funded childcare and giving children the best start in life.

We have already made an impact, awarding £82 million in capital funding to more than 600 primary and maintained nursery schools, which is expected to deliver over 11,000 new nursery places by September 2027. Schools report that by the end of September 2026, 450 new and expanded nurseries will have created over 9,000 new places since the start of the programme.

No applications for Huntingdon were awarded funding in phases 1 and 2. Local authorities have until 17:00 on 30 September to submit their funding proposals for phase 3.

The department fully recognises the importance of ensuring that any structural changes to local government protect the safety, wellbeing, and life chances of children and young people. The department continues to work closely with local authorities undergoing local government reorganisation (LGR) as part of the school-based nursery grant allocation and assurance process. It is essential that local authorities continue to deliver their children’s services through LGR. Delivery of the programme does not alter local authorities' statutory duties, and they remain responsible for ensuring projects meet local need and support their duty to secure sufficient childcare.

Backed by £400 million capital investment, the school-based nursery programme will deliver tens of thousands of new places by expanding early education and childcare places where they are most needed, helping more families to access funded childcare and giving children the best start in life.

We have already made an impact, awarding £82 million in capital funding to more than 600 primary and maintained nursery schools, which is expected to deliver over 11,000 new nursery places by September 2027. Schools report that by the end of September 2026, 450 new and expanded nurseries will have created over 9,000 new places since the start of the programme.

No applications for Huntingdon were awarded funding in phases 1 and 2. Local authorities have until 17:00 on 30 September to submit their funding proposals for phase 3.

The department fully recognises the importance of ensuring that any structural changes to local government protect the safety, wellbeing, and life chances of children and young people. The department continues to work closely with local authorities undergoing local government reorganisation (LGR) as part of the school-based nursery grant allocation and assurance process. It is essential that local authorities continue to deliver their children’s services through LGR. Delivery of the programme does not alter local authorities' statutory duties, and they remain responsible for ensuring projects meet local need and support their duty to secure sufficient childcare.

The department set out its strategy in the ‘Giving every child the best start in life’ report. We are working with the sector to address barriers to recruitment and retention and create more opportunities to enter the profession and gain relevant qualifications.

The department sets the criteria that qualifications must meet in order for staff to be included in the staff to child ratios. These are known as ‘full and relevant’ qualifications. We will continue to simplify the number of early years qualifications on offer.

Having these qualification requirements ensures a consistent level of knowledge and skills across all settings, so that every child receives a quality early education and receives the best start in life. Any individual that does not hold a full and relevant qualification can only work as an unqualified member of staff.

To check whether a qualification is considered full and relevant, practitioners and managers can now use the department’s digital registry at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-an-early-years-qualification.

We want more people to achieve a level 3 qualification. To do this, we are working to develop an Assessment Only route for experienced staff to achieve level 3 recognition, which is similar to those in other education professions.

The 15 or 30 hours must be accessible free of charge to parents and there must not be any mandatory charges for parents in relation to the free hours.

Paragraph A1.38 of the early education and childcare statutory guidance for local authorities states that local authorities must take all steps available to ensure that the free entitlements are available free of charge and that providers do not charge parents for top‑up fees or any general charges, including but not limited to supplementary charges on top of the government-funded hours.

The statutory guidance also emphasises transparency at the heart of how the entitlement should be passed on to parents, including that any additional costs should be clear on websites, contracts, and invoices.

The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.

Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.

There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.

The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.

Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.

There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.

The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.

Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.

There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.

The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.

Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.

There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.

The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.