Families throughout the capital are set to benefit from a significant increase in school-based nursery facilities as 34 schools secure funding to create or extend early years provision beginning in the autumn.

The investment forms part of a national initiative worth £45 million intended to cut childcare expenses, assist working parents, and ensure every child obtains the strongest possible foundation for their development.

Officials indicated that the expansion would support working families in the capital, where elevated costs and restricted availability have long burdened parents balancing careers and home life.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer advised that as someone with parental experience, he understood how demanding it can be to manage work alongside family commitments. These new school-based nurseries would make a genuine impact for London households by reducing expenses, simplifying daily routines, and offering children the optimal beginning.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson noted that concentrating new nursery places in the regions with the greatest need, including throughout the capital, meant additional families could obtain quality early education close to where they lived.

The initiative supplements broader cost-of-living assistance for London families, including:

Thirty hours of subsidised childcare, delivering substantial savings for parents

Free breakfast clubs, valued at up to £450 annually

Measures to restrict school uniform expenses

Extending access to free school meals

Thirty-four schools across the capital will receive nursery expansion funding.

Barking and Dagenham

Goresbrook School in Barking

Bexley

Fairford Academy Barnehurst serving Bexleyheath and Crayford

Mayplace Primary School serving Bexleyheath and Crayford

Pelham Primary School serving Bexleyheath and Crayford

Brent

Mount Stewart Infant School in Brent West

Bromley

Harris Primary Academy Orpington in Orpington

Croydon

Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School in Croydon South

Ealing

Wolf Fields Primary School in Ealing Southall

Enfield

Alma Primary School in Enfield North

Firs Farm Primary School serving Edmonton and Winchmore Hill

St Matthew’s CofE Primary School in Enfield North

Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy serving Edmonton and Winchmore Hill

Worcestershire Primary School in Enfield North

Hackney

Comet Nursery School and Children’s Centre in Hackney South and Shoreditch

Harrington Hill Primary School in Hackney North and Stoke Newington

Haringey

Earlham Primary School serving Southgate and Wood Green

Risley Avenue Primary School serving Southgate and Wood Green

St Mary’s CofE Primary School in Hornsey and Friern Barnet

The Devonshire Hill Nursery and Primary School in Tottenham

The Mulberry Primary School in Tottenham

Harrow

Priestmead Primary School and Nursery in Harrow East

St John’s CofE School in Harrow East

Havering

R J Mitchell Primary School in Dagenham and Rainham

Kensington and Chelsea

Bevington Primary School in Kensington and Bayswater

Lewisham

Kender Primary School in Lewisham North

Myatt Garden Primary School in Lewisham North

St George’s CofE Primary School in Lewisham West and East Dulwich

St James’s Hatcham Church of England Primary School in Lewisham North

Merton

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Wimbledon

Newham

Monega Primary School in East Ham

Sutton

Abbey Primary School in Carshalton and Wallington

Waltham Forest

Church Hill Nursery School in Walthamstow

Wandsworth

Eastwood Nursery School in Putney

Franciscan Primary School in Tooting

Across England, 331 schools will receive funding to establish thousands of fresh childcare places, particularly in regions where parents encounter the most significant obstacles to access.