Three hundred new or expanded nurseries will be opened by next September to help address the rising demand for childcare, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has announced.
The Government plans to create 3,000 nurseries by upgrading vacant areas in schools.
The first 300 nurseries will be supported with an initial £15m of funding.
‘Our mission to deliver opportunity for the next generation must start with our youngest children,’ the education secretary told the Labour conference.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association, welcomed the education secretary’s focus on early education and care.
However, she stressed that the creation of new nurseries needed to be ‘planned properly’ and the early years sector workforce crisis needed to be addressed.
