Crawley primary school ‘delighted’ to offer new nursery places as Government programme expands
A Crawley primary school is ‘delighted’ to be part of a pilot programme that is seeing hundreds of nurseries created in state primary schools.
West Green Primary School have been successful in their bid for funding from the Department of Education to create a nursery, which will be housed in the school’s existing community room.
West Green Primary School plans to create 26 places to cater for children aged between two and four-years-old.
The nursery, which forms part of a £109,000 development for the school, is expected to open by September 2026.
A spokesperson for governing body of West Green Primary School said: “The Governing Body of West Green Primary School are delighted that we have been successful in our bid for funding from the Department of Education to create a school based nursery at West Green Primary School.
“The nursery will be housed in our existing community room. We plan to create up to 26 places to cater for children aged 2-4 years old. The nursery is expected to be open by September 2026.
“The £109,000 development will create an engaging Early Years setting that meets the needs of our community. The investment will include redeveloped outdoor and indoor areas.
“The nursery will be run by a private, voluntary, independent (PVI) provider and the school will shortly be advertising to recruit an outstanding provider to support the school’s inclusive ethos.”
Headteacher Sally Chapman added: “I believe that this is a very exciting time for West Green Primary School.
“With government funding we are able to transform our community room into a state of the art nursery with inclusive, enriching outdoor and inside learning facilities.
“Our aim is to recruit the best possible Early Years provider that supports the ethos and vision of West Green Primary School and offer much needed nursery provision for our local community.”
The Government says that phase one of its school-based nurseries programme is well on track, with 189 of 300 state-funded new or expanded nurseries set to be up and running by the end of this month.
It was announced on September 4 that it would be expanding it with a further £45 million of funding – to build an additional 300 school-based nurseries to open by September 2026.
Interested schools will be able to apply for their share – up to £150,000 each – from September 22, with the successful schools to be announced next April.