Schools in disadvantaged areas prioritised for £45m nursery funding
Priority will be given to schools with high levels of pupils eligible for free school meals or living in areas ranked poorly on the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index
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Schools with poorer intakes are to be prioritised for a £45m capital fund aimed at expanding nursery provision on primary sites across England.
The Department for Education’s School-based Nursery Capital Grant 2025 to 2026 will offer up to £150,000 per school to create or extend nurseries. Applications will be assessed against criteria including disadvantage, local need and value for money, with disadvantage weighted most heavily at 50% of the total score.
The department said the programme would target areas where families struggle to access affordable childcare, with funding designed to build capacity without undermining nearby provision. School-based nurseries already account for more than one in five early education places, and are more prevalent in deprived communities.
Priority will be given to schools with high levels of pupils eligible for free school meals or living in areas ranked poorly on the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index. Maintained nursery schools may also apply, with £4.5m of the overall fund ringfenced for their bids.
Successful projects must deliver a net increase in places and be operational by September 2027. Outcomes will be announced in April 2026, with the aim of having new or expanded nurseries open by the following academic year.
The initiative follows the first phase of the scheme in 2024–25 and is part of a wider government pledge of £370m for school-based nursery expansion between 2025 and 2030.