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The government is set to fall “significantly short” of its target to open or expand 3,000 new school-based nurseries, researchers have found.

A report from the charity indicates that the appetite for new nurseries in schools that do not currently have one is low, with many facing “several barriers” to setting up provision.

In 2024 the government committed £15 million in capital funding for schools to open 3,000 new school-based nurseries.

So far it has given money to 631 schools to open or expand nurseries, across two waves of grant funding.

But, drawing on survey responses from 1,372 senior leaders, the charity found that, while appetite for further expansion “does exist”, it is “limited”, with only one in five leaders in schools without existing provision saying they already have plans to open a school‑based nursery or consider it likely that they will do so.

Most schools ‘unlikely’ to open a nursery

In the survey, just over half of respondents said they already had nursery provision. Of the remainder, 3 per cent said they had existing plans, 5 per cent said it is “very likely” that one will be set up and 12 per cent said it is “quite likely”.

“The majority said it is not likely that they will set one up,” the report says.

“Even if all those who said it was likely followed through, this would leave the programme significantly short of the targeted 3,000 settings.”

The researchers also found several practical barriers that would prevent schools without an existing nursery from setting one up.

Some 51 per cent of respondents without existing provision indicated that a lack of “suitable” indoor space was a barrier to setting up an early years setting.

Other common barriers included high start-up costs (cited by 50 per cent of respondents without a nursery) and financial viability (46 per cent).

Among those respondents who pointed to financial viability as a barrier, 73 per cent cited the cost of the staffing ratios required, 67 per cent identified “ongoing staff costs” and 65 per cent highlighted the capital costs of converting a space.

The benefits of school-based nurseries

The researchers also conducted interviews with 13 leaders from schools with nurseries, in which the benefits of provision were highlighted.

Among the advantages of schools having nurseries, leaders listed “smoother transitions, earlier SEND identification and improved school readiness”, and many felt these benefits helped disadvantaged pupils in particular.

“Many” senior leaders felt that incoming Reception pupils benefited when they had previously attended the school-based nursery, with the report saying that this can be a “strong motivator” for schools to open one.

“Some schools told us they use pupil premium funding to cover the costs, and there should be acknowledgement that there can be financial difficulties, such as high set-up costs, that the school may have to absorb”, the report adds.

Among the key recommendations in the report, the charity says disadvantaged areas should be “prioritised” in the rollout. But it says that without “wider changes” to early years funding, children from families on lower incomes will continue to miss out.

The researchers found that new schools in the pilot scheme were “around a third less likely to be in the most disadvantaged areas” than pre-existing school-based nurseries.

The government previously announced that it would prioritise bids from schools serving “some of the most disadvantaged communities” in its second wave of funding.

However, ����Vlog analysis previously revealed that the majority of successful bidders had fewer pupils eligible for free school meals than the national average of 25.7 per cent.

Commenting on the report, Carl Cullinane, director of research and policy and principal investigator at the Sutton Trust, said the school-based nurseries programme is a “promising” initiative, but the government is facing a “reality check” in implementing it.

“This research highlights the many benefits of school-based nurseries, but there’s still a mountain to climb in creating new places, and targeting them in the right areas”, he added.

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