The government’s “number one” education priority will be compromised if schools jump in “glassy-eyed” to run nurseries, leaders are warning.

The concern was raised as the government set out its plan to use spare space in primary schools as early years provision to support disadvantaged pupils and provide more nursery places.

Meanwhile, a Tes analysis revealed growing numbers of schools are lowering their minimum statutory age range to take on more early years children.

While the government’s plan for more school-based nurseries has been broadly welcomed, senior education figures - including Cathie Paine, leader of England’s largest primary-only multi-academy trust - point to a series of logistical challenges that schools will need to overcome.

They fear that failing to think carefully about details such as staffing, the need for sleep areas and even the height of toilets could compromise the quality of early years provision, which is an area that the education secretary Bridget Phillipson calls her “number one priority”.

There are also concerns that the policy could fail to target disadvantaged communities and risks worsening the struggles faced by small schools.

Leaders face staffing ‘headache’

Ms Paine, the CEO of REAch2, which runs 62 primaries, warned that the idea of creating school-based nursery provision may sound appealing, but “there are some very real, practical considerations that need to be considered”, including staffing.

Early years leaders have previously raised the issue of staffing shortages, but the focus also needs to be on the quality of staff, Ms Paine said.

Helen Pinnington, early years foundation lead at St Thomas More’s Catholic Primary School in Hampshire, agreed that a failure to think carefully about staffing ratios and qualifications would create “quite a headache” for leaders planning to run a nursery.

The DfE has invited bids from primary schools interested in applying for up to £150,000 in capital funding to convert areas of their school site into nurseries. The first round of funding will support up to 300 new or expanded nurseries.

According to official guidance, schools’ bids will be assessed on the evidence of childcare needs in their local area, as well as whether they currently offer, or plan to offer, nursery provision outside of term time.

But providing early years education all year round could create additional staffing challenges, said Nicky Dunford, CEO of the Link Academy Trust, which runs 23 primaries across the South West.

“It is hard enough to recruit as it is,” she said, adding that her trust will have to look at training more support staff, a role they have struggled to recruit for in the trust’s small, rural schools.

Physical space limitations

Repurposing classrooms could also be more complicated than it sounds, Ms Paine said.

“Existing buildings may not provide enough space to meet the regulations - for instance, the need for more toilets, sleep areas and hygiene spaces,” she said.

Rather than remodelling existing space, schools might instead want to add “self-contained modular buildings”, to allow access throughout the day for parents “as the start and finish time is different from primary schools”, she suggested.

Other practical considerations were the height of toilets and sinks, said Ms Pinnington. “You might have a spare classroom with your junior children, but if there are no toilets nearby, and they are all of junior size and height, it’s no good,” she said.

Smaller schools fear being left out

Leaders at some smaller schools fear they lack the physical space to make this work, and that their pupil rolls will take a hit if parents choose other schools that have nurseries attached to them.

“It’s going to take the capacity that we fought hard for away from us. I’m really worried about that,” said Ms Dunford, who is also chair of the national small schools strategy group.

Only two out of the 23 primaries in her trust have enough space to be able to bid for a viable schools-based nursery.

There is also a risk that surplus space will be needed in future if primary pupil numbers increase, Ms Paine warned.

“This space may well be needed down the line for statutory education, and so we need to be careful about repurposing space which may be needed for its primary purpose,” she said.

Don’t get ‘glassy-eyed’, leaders warned

If leaders do not consider all of the additional logistics for opening nursery provision, such as ensuring a high-quality workforce and continuing professional development, there is a risk of quality being “compromised”, according to Gail Brown, CEO of Ebor Academy Trust, which has 25 primary schools in North Yorkshire.

She warned that schools could get “glassy-eyed” about the £150,000 of government funding on offer and instead see the policy as an “opportunity to enhance capital”.

“It’s easy to look on paper and think that [setting up a school-based nursery] is straightforward, but it is not,” she said.

“Something that is really going to make a difference to children long-term is much more complex and complicated to think out, because you could get it very wrong,” she continued.

Hard to judge how new nurseries would enhance provision

Assessing the extent to which prospective school nurseries would be adding to existing provision - one of the criteria in the DfE bidding process - is also more complex than it seems, experts say.

It is not yet known how much the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector will be involved in the DfE’s early years plans, which raises questions about what will happen to those providers once more schools enter this space.

Beatrice Merrick, chief executive of the charity Early Education, warned that there is “not a very good system” for checking whether new provision is adding to the overall quality on offer. “Is this filling gaps or is this making everybody a bit less viable?” she asked.

Her concerns were echoed by Tiffnie Harris, primary specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).

She said that there are worries that school-based nurseries could put smaller PVI nurseries out of business “quite quickly”, which would have “severe implications for the community”.

Disadvantaged schools struggle with bids

Rob Carpenter, CEO of Inspire Partnership, which runs nine schools in the South East, initially hoped the policy would be more focused on “targeted support for pupils in communities where there was increased poverty”.

However, he does not believe this is supported by the government’s emphasis on helping working parents. These “are not necessarily the types of parents where the pupil cohort or the early help is needed the most”, he said.

Given the need for bids to show evidence of local demand, Mr Carpenter said he is unable to apply on behalf of one of his schools in a highly disadvantaged area with a low nursery uptake, despite the potential benefits for the most vulnerable children.

Another hurdle to opening school-based nurseries for many schools is the existing special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision that is already on site.

Inclusion focus can mean schools have no surplus space

For some, the challenges and limitations of the policy are simply too constraining.

The government funding on offer is insufficient, according to Josh Greaves, deputy CEO of Wellspring Academy Trust, which runs 33 schools in Yorkshire.

Although he welcomed the early years initiative, he warned that the £150,000 on offer is only likely to fund one classroom “at a stretch”. The funding “does not come close to providing a high quality early years environment with the necessary facilities”, he said.

In addition, only two primary schools in his trust have put in a bid for funding, as the focus on inclusion, including provision for children with SEND, has meant other schools within the trust are already using their extra space to cater for pupils with additional needs.

“We have turned additional space over to break-out space for children with SEND or behavioural challenges. Those schools might have bid for school-based nursery funding if, over the past two years, we hadn’t converted all our extra space,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ms Harris said that funding will be at the crux of whether the policy is effective: “If this scheme is to be successful, it is crucial that there is sustainable funding to support nursery costs as well as sufficient recruitment of early years staff.”

The DfE has been contacted for comment.

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