School-Based Nurseries

Families in Bootle are set to benefit from Labour’s new school-based nurseries, as part of our plan to deliver the change families need.

I am delighted that Thomas Gray Primary School is one of the first 300 schools to be part of a new government scheme to deliver thousands of new and expanded school-based nurseries.

It’s the start of a revolution in early years education. More places, higher quality, lower costs for parents. That’s at the heart of this government’s mission to ensure that every child has the best start in life, breaking the unfair link between a child’s background and their future success.

The first 300 schools will get up to £150,000 each to convert unused classrooms into new nursery spaces. That’ll mean up to 6,000 new childcare places – most of them ready to go by September, when working parents will get 30 government-funded hours of childcare a week from when their child is 9 months old right up to starting school.

Too often I’ve heard the frustrations from parents who are keen to get back to work but are not able to because of sky-high childcare costs. Come September, working parents could save up to £7,500 a year through the 30 hours of funded childcare, compared with paying for it themselves. In today’s world, savings of that kind can be a huge help to family finances.

Our earliest years are the time when the biggest difference to a child’s life can be made, where we can set our children up to start school ready and raring to go, where opportunities for better life chances first take root.

That’s why the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change has set out the target of a record share of kids starting school ready to learn. And it’s why we’re focusing on primary schools. Schools are at the heart of our communities, and school-based nurseries bring kids together from the earliest years – to build friendships and get ready to learn together.

Parents can get to know the teachers, the teachers can spot issues early, and kids can get used to being at school. They see the same faces, they have the same friends, they play in the same playgrounds.

And our plan for change doesn’t stop there. Later this month, the first 750 schools kick start free breakfast clubs including St Monica’s Catholic Primary School and Lander Road Primary School in Bootle so families can save up to £450 a year, and every child can start the day right.

We’re delivering our promises to parents: more nursery places, an expansion in government funded childcare, and new breakfast clubs. This government is putting children and families first. We’re boosting parents’ work choices and children’s life chances.