Labour will create 368 new nurseries in the East of England
Labour leader Keir Starmer and Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson today will today unveil plans to make high quality childcare available to thousands more families by creating over 3,000 new school-based nurseries across the country, based in empty primary schools classrooms.
The commitment comes as new analysis shows that areas in the East of England are becoming childcare deserts, with multiple children fighting for a single place.
Across the East of England it's estimated that there are on average 3.3, 0-5 year olds per childcare place. Children in Suffolk are being hit particularly hard, with 3.49 children per place.
Labour plans to will use growing spare capacity within primary schools, growing across the country due to falling birth rates, to house provide more on-site nurseries as part of its plans to drive high and rising standards in early years.
Labour said the move represented the next stage in its long-term plan to deliver a modern childcare system that better supports parents from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school.
The move follows the Party pushing through an amendment to the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act to enable local councils to deliver new childcare provision for their communities.
The expansion will see Labour convert create 3,300 high quality nurseries from converted classrooms into high quality nursery provision, which the party says will help meet deliver both the immediate demand for childcare in under-served areas, and anticipated additional demand from the expansion of government-funded childcare entitlements announced in the 2023 Budget, which Labour is committed to delivering. These conversions will be paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools.
In the East of England Labour's plans could see the creation of around 368 nurseries, equivalent to places for approximately 11,160 children.
Labour has made improving childcare for working families a key priority, with since Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson already announcing the Party’s plans to deliver breakfast clubs in every primary school in England as part of a modern childcare system from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school.
Labour’s plans will give children a better start to life, helping to prepare them for school. This initiative will improve both the availability and quality of childcare for families in areas with severe shortages of available places, or childcare “deserts”, enabling more parents to work.
The Party will also strengthen childcare regulation, working with Ofsted to ensure that the money government is spending on childcare is driving the best outcomes for children and families.
Labour said it would target its new school nursery places at areas of highest need, where parents simply cannot find local childcare places for their kids.
The party said that nurseries could be run by the schools themselves or local private or voluntary sector nursery providers. School-based nursery provision is popular with parents, especially families with multiple children, provides high quality education and sees lower turnover of staff than private nursery providers.
Jess Asato, Labour’s candidate for Lowestoft said:
“Families across Lowestoft, Beccles and the villages are crying out for high quality early years education but they are stuck on waiting lists, left paying over the odds for childcare and failing to secure the places and free hours they were pledged by the Tories, let down time and again by a Conservative government that makes promises that it cannot deliver.
“Labour is the only party with a plan to deliver what parents in Lowestoft and Beccles need from our early years system and the only party of high and rising standards in education.”
Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said:
The evidence is clear: school-based nurseries deliver high quality education which enables children to achieve and thrive when they at primary school.
“The 3300 new nurseries we announce today will be key to delivering Labour’s mission for half a million more children to hit the early learning goals by 2030, giving them the firm foundations from which to succeed.
“Only Labour is the party with a plan to deliver reform to our early years system and only Labour is the party of high and rising standards in education.”
Notes
Labour will covert 3,334 classrooms to accommodate 100,000 additional childcare places with an estimated average cost of £40,000 to retrofit individual classrooms into school-based nurseries. The cost would be funded by revenue raised from VAT levied on private schools.
“This follows the Party pushing through an amendment to the Levelling-Up Act to enable local councils to deliver new childcare provision for their communities.”
[[http://levelling-up%20and%20regeneration%20bill%20set%20to%20become%20law%22%20hyperlink%20%22https/www.parliament.uk/business/news/2023/january-2023/lords-considers-levelling-up-and-regeneration-bill/%5DLevelling-up]http://levelling-up%20and%20regeneration%20bill%20set%20to%20become%20law"%20hyperlink%20"https//www.parliament.uk/business/news/2023/january-2023/lords-considers-levelling-up-and-regeneration-bill/]Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill set to become law
For any further details please email - Labour Eastern Press - easternpress@labour.org.uk