GovWire

The School-Based Nursery Capital Grant is a one-time grant available for eligible state-funded primary-phase schools. Schools can bid for up to 150,000 of funding to use for capital expenditure to:

• convert spare space within school buildings into a new nursery
• expand an existing nursery

The grant cannot be used for any of the following:

• to upgrade existing nursery provision without adding new childcare places
• for new builds on spare land
• for extension projects which do not also include the use of existing spare space in the school building

This is the first stage in a long-term commitment to expand school-based nurseries across England.

For more information, and before applying for the grant, read:

• School-Based Nursery Capital Grant 2024 to 2025 guidance (PDF, 637 KB, 44 pages), which provides:
  • details of the capital scheme
  • more detail on the eligibility criteria
  • guidance for filling in an application as well as the template of the application form
• Establishing school-based nursery provision guidance, which details the requirements and recommendations for expanding or opening new school-based nursery provision

Who can apply

Applications for grant funding are open to state-funded primary-phase schools in England that already offer some early education, such as a reception class. Projects must use surplus space in the school building. The grant cannot be used for new builds on school land.

Maintained nursery schools, special schools and pupil referral units (PRUs) cannot apply for this grant because they do not have spare space created by declining primary school rolls. They are, however, encouraged to register their interest in opening new nursery places in the future. This will help inform future development of the programme.

To qualify, your project must meet all the eligibility criteria within the application. This includes securing support from your local authority and obtaining consent from your landlord or relevant freehold landowner where necessary. We will evaluate applications that meet the eligibility criteria against the assessment criteria detailed in the School-Based Nursery Capital Grant 2024 to 2025 guidance.

Any responsible official representing the school, such as a school or multi-academy trust leader, can submit your bid. The bid coordinator must have access to your DfE Sign-in account to apply for the grant through the online application service.

How to apply

You must submit your application via the online application service by midday on 19 December 2024. We will not accept applications made through other routes or after this deadline.

To help you prepare your application, you can view the template of the application form in the School-Based Nursery Capital Grant 2024 to 2025 guidance. However, applications must be submitted through the online application service.

All bid co-ordinators must use the schools DfE sign-in account to apply for the grant on the schools behalf.If you wish to apply but do not have a DfE Sign-in account (required to access the online application service), you must request an account by 12 December 2024.

Registration of interest

If you are interested in opening a school-based nursery in the future but you are unable or ineligible to apply in this round, you can register your interest online. This includes schools that:

• do not meet the current eligibility criteria
• are considering opening a nursery within a more extended timeframe
• are facing other challenges at this time which prevent an application being made

You should detail why you would like to open or expand school-based nursery provision, the key challenges that prevent you from doing so, and what support may help you to achieve this in the future. Your contribution will help inform the development of the programme.

The Department for Education (DfE) may contact you to discuss support options. If we contact your school, it will not affect the outcome of any future grant applications.

Maintained nursery schools that are unable to access the registration of interest through the Online Application Service can register their interest by submitting the above information, as well as their school, URN and contact details through the Customer Help Portal.

The registration of interest will close at midday on 19 December.

Webinars

In November 2024, DfE hosted webinars for schools and local authorities to hear about the school-based nursery capital grant and ask some questions. You can watch recordings of these webinars:

• School-based nurseries capital grant 2024 to 2025 webinar for schools 5 November
• School-based nurseries capital grant 2024 to 2025 webinar for local authorities 6 November
• School-based nurseries capital grant 2024 to 2025 webinar for schools, local authorities and responsible bodies 28 November

Contact us

To submit a query about school-based nurseries, use the Customer Help Portal. Multi-academy trusts should include which school your enquiry relates to. To allow enough time for the team to assist you, we recommend that you submit your enquiry at least 5 working days before the application deadline. While we will try to respond to all enquiries, we cannot guarantee a response before the application deadline.

Do not submit multiple requests for the same issue.

We are unable to provide any advice related to individual applications due to their competitive nature.