School based nurseries: what the DfE guidance doesn’t say

If you read the government’s guidance on applying for capital funding to open or expand nursery provision, you could be forgiven for thinking setting up a nursery is mainly about the space.  There’s not much detail on what’s best for children or parents, what’s needed to deliver high quality of provision or the distinctive nature of early years pedagogy. 

As an organisation which has been at the centre of debates about the pros and cons of nursery provision in schools for a century, Early Education is working to support the sector fill in the gaps.  Here’s our take on a few of the questions schools should be asking when considering whether to set up nursery provision.

1. What’s the school’s motivation for new nursery provision?  Many schools feel having a nursery gives them more control about getting children ready for Reception, and that can be beneficial.  If you are aware that the new entitlements are creating additional unmet demand for places, what are the ages for which places are needed, and is the school best place to meet those?  Can you offer the extended hours and holiday care which working parents want, or do you need to have conversations with existing providers about collectively meeting and managing new demand?  Will taking children on the new entitlements risk displacing disadvantaged 2-year-olds and 3-/4-year-olds only eligible for the universal 15 hours, and exacerbating the disadvantage gap?
2. What expertise do you have about the age group of children you plan to accommodate?  There are only 1,524 primary schools with 2-year-olds at present (more than a decade after schools were first encouraged to offer the disadvantaged 2-year-old entitlement), and only 8,006 with nursery classes.  If you don’t already have a nursery, it’s vital to be clear about the difference in what children need from birth to 5 at different ages and stages.  What children need in the early years is very different from later in primary. If you are considering extending your age range, visit high quality settings and talk to experienced early years leaders to understand what’s involved for babies, toddlers and 3- to 4-year-olds. If you don’t have the expertise in-house, consider a partnership with an early years provider or finding the right expertise – for instance from an Early Education Associate.
3. What else could you do with the space?  Pressure on school finances is intense, and you may feel you have to explore all options to generate income.  Are you mainly looking for a pipeline to fill your reception class and future years, or to generate revenue to offset falling rolls?  What other options are available that might meet other needs, eg using the space to create or expand resourced provision to meet the growing SEND demand? A nursery won’t be the right solution for every school, especially where there is already enough good provision locally.
4. Will the finances stack up?  The DfE’s own evidence is clear that many schools currently find the 3- to 4-year-old hourly rate insufficient to cover the cost of running a nursery.  Funding rates are higher for younger children, but staffing costs are also higher and you can’t take children from 2 or younger unless you keep them on at 3, so will this balance out across the age groups?  How many children in each age group do you need to ensure your provision covers its costs?  Remember that occupancy rates change over the year, with the autumn term usually the lowest, as children’s eligibility kicks in on a termly basis for the early years.
5. What’s your school’s role in the eco-system of local early years provision?  You probably receive children from multiple feeder settings at present.  What impact will it have on those if the school opens a nursery?  Will it destabilise existing provision that may better meet children’s needs?  If the school can’t match the quality and inclusiveness of existing provision, that should be a red flag – or a sign that the school should invite existing providers to partner with it to deliver on the school site.  If there is currently not enough high quality, inclusive provision, and the schools will offer something better, that’s great – but consider the potential unintended consequences.  The patchy nature of current provision shows that the current system for ensuring sufficiency doesn’t work well enough at matching provision with need.
6. Where will you find the staff?  There’s a recruitment and retention crisis across the early years, as well as in schools, so the DfE’s requirement to demonstrate you can staff your new provision is likely to be challenging.  You may have some leadership capacity within your foundation stage, but remember that many reception teachers won’t have experience of working with younger children and, again, consider the role of partnerships in finding the leadership you need.

There are lots of good reasons for expanding nursery provision in schools.  In the most disadvantaged areas, schools have a better track record than private, voluntary and independent providers of providing the inclusive high quality, teacher-led provision that can transform children’s lives.  But there are also examples of schools opening nursery classes to bolster their own falling numbers and jeopardising the viability of other providers by pressuring parents to choose the school nursery over other, better local provision.  If the government’s school-based nursery expansion is to succeed, it must be about what’s in the best interests of children.

Beatrice Merrick is Chief Executive of Early Education