Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of early years education in (a) schools and (b) non-school sites on educational outcomes.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

The 2024 Department for Education Provider Survey shows that there were 322,000 registered places at school-based nurseries in 2024.

School-based nurseries are one part of this country's childcare and early years market.

Nurseries located on a school site can operate under different delivery models, such as nursery classes run by the school, a private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nursery leasing space on a school’s premises or operating on the school’s behalf, or provision run by a childminder, or group of childminders, leasing space on a school premises.

School-based nurseries are more likely to be led by graduate qualified staff, which is associated with higher quality provision for children. Additionally, the benefits of school-based nursery provision, including transition to school, were highlighted by many teachers working in schools with a nursery in the Kindred Squared school readiness report.