Political Opinion: Jake Richards MP: Labour Government brings new Best Start nurseries to Woodsetts and Thurcroft
More children in Rother Valley are set to benefit from high quality early years education, closer to home, as the Labour government has announced that Woodsetts Primary School and Thurcroft Infant School will receive funding to open Best Start school-based nurseries.
In the latest drive to bear down on the cost of living, thousands more parents will save up to £8,000 a year as the Government expands childcare to over 300 more schools nationwide from September.
School-based nurseries are already providing a lifeline for families up and down the country. Combined with Labour’s 30 hours of funded childcare, they are helping to cut the cost of childcare in half for working families, making the school run simpler with fewer drop offs on busy mornings and helping parents to return to work.
Labour has revealed a further 331 schools have been successful in applying for a share of £45 million funding to build or expand nurseries on their site.
The new Best Start nurseries will create over 6,000 more childcare places, on top of the 7,000 already being delivered from the rollout of phase one of the programme. The announcement follows a report published last week showing Labour’s childcare reforms have halved costs for eligible working parents since 2024.
Newer figures published today show over a million parents now use the government-funded childcare offer, putting money back into their pockets and into family budgets.
Alongside new nursery places, families can also benefit from 30 hours funded childcare, free breakfast clubs and caps on branded school uniform items.
This is what targeted support looks like under a Labour Government. I am proud that we are supporting hard working parents, easing the cost of living and ensuring that every child gets the best start in life.