The government has announced 66 schools will get extra funding to boost their nursery places – but ministers have failed to allocate all the promised cash.
Under its school nurseries capital fund, the Department for Education pledged £30 million to create “high-quality school-based” nursery places to boost social mobility. The commitment was included in the 2017 Conservative manifesto.
The government has today announced 66 schools have won funding – but just £22 million has been allocated. The DfE said the remaining £8 million would go back into its capital funding pot.
The shortfall in allocated cash certaintly wasn’t down to a lack of applicants. Figures released by the department show there were 143 applications for the funding – meaning the majority (77) were turned down.
The £22 million will help schools boost nursery places in areas with high numbers of families who get free school meals, the DfE said. New places will be created through new builds and expansions of schools already rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.
The area with the most approved projects is the north west, with 17. The East Midlands has just three approved – which is the fewest (full list below).
The announcement is part of a new campaign launched by education secretary Damian Hinds today to “encourage parents to kickstart their children’s learning at home”.
Under the ‘Hungry Little Minds’ campaign, the government has committed to provide parents with “ideas on how to use everyday opportunities, like going to the shops and playing make-believe games, as part of a relentless society-wide effort to improve the early literacy and language skills in the years before children start school”.
Hinds wants to tackle the “profound issue” of one in four children leaving their first year of school without the “skills in literacy, language and communication they need”.
The 66 schools sharing £22m
Newbold CofE Primary, Derbyshire, East Midlands
Morven Park Primary and Nursery, Nottinghamshire, East Midlands
Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary, Lincolnshire, East Midlands
Prince Avenue Academy and Nursery, Southend-on-Sea, East of England
Hogarth Primary, Essex, East of England
Whitton Community Primary, Suffolk, East of England
Canvey Island Infant, Essex, East of England
Snape Community Primary, Suffolk, East of England
St Clare’s Catholic Primary, Essex, East of England
Forest Approach Academy, Havering, London
Three Bridges Primary, Ealing, London
Granton Primary, Lambeth, London
Grange Primary, Newham, London
Ark Oval Primary Academy, Croydon, London
Cramlington Village Primary, Northumberland, North East
Caldicotes Primary Academy, Middlesbrough, North East
Central Walker Church of England Primary, Newcastle upon Tyne, North East
New York Primary, North Tyneside, North East
Stranton Primary, Hartlepool, North East
Morpeth Road Academy, Northumberland, North East
West Cornforth Primary, Durham, North East
St Anne’s Catholic Primary, Wirral, North West
Beechwood Primary School and Nursery, Cheshire East, North West
Eastway Primary, Wirral, North West
St Michael and All Angels Catholic, Wirral, North West
Riverside Primary, Wirral, North West
Unity Community, Manchester, North West
Orgill Primary, Cumbria, North West
Ash Grove Academy, Cheshire East, North West
Warrington St Barnabas CofE Primary, Warrington, North West
The District CofE Primary, St. Helens, North West
Thames Primary Academy, Blackpool, North West
Marsh Green Primary, Wigan, North West
The Priory Parish CofE Primary, Wirral, North West
St Paul’s Catholic Primary, Wirral, North West
Northmoor Academy, Oldham, North West
Kincraig Primary, Blackpool, North West
Meadowside Community Primary and Nursery, Warrington, North West
Greenfields Community Primary, Kent, South East
Molehill Primary Academy, Kent, South East
St Mary’s Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary, Kent, South East
Pyrcroft Grange Primary, Surrey, South East
Thomas Hickman, Buckinghamshire, South East
Barton Hill Academy, Torbay, South West
Southbroom Infants’, Wiltshire, South West
St Dennis Primary Academy, Cornwall, South West
Minerva Primary, Somerset, South West
School of Christ The King Catholic Primary, Bristol, South West
Princecroft Primary, Wiltshire, South West
Oasis Academy Warndon, Worcestershire, West Midlands
Victoria Park Primary, Sandwell, West Midlands
Chadsgrove, Worcestershire, West Midlands
Reynalds Cross, Solihull, West Midlands
St Oswald’s CofE Primary, Worcestershire, West Midlands
Northfield Manor Primary Academy, Birmingham, West Midlands
Cleeve Prior CofE (Controlled) Primary, Worcestershire, West Midlands
Ward End Primary, Birmingham, West Midlands
St Mary’s CofE (VA) Primary, Worcestershire, West Midlands
Goldsmith Primary Academy, Walsall, West Midlands
Watercliffe Meadow Community Primary, Sheffield, Yorkshire and the Humber
Selby Community Primary, North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber
Fairburn View Primary, Wakefield, Yorkshire and the Humber
Wybourn Community Primary & Nursery, Sheffield, Yorkshire and the Humber
Mill Field Primary, Leeds, Yorkshire and the Humber
Grange Primary, North East Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and the Humber
Woodhouse West Primary, Sheffield, Yorkshire and the Humber
Your thoughts