Schools chosen as twos 'champions'

Out of the 49 schools involved in the trial for nursery places for two-year-olds, 26 will be given £10,000 each to promote the policy and support other schools to set-up and develop their own provision for disadvantaged twos.

However, 23 of the trial schools are not going on to become ‘champions’, but will continue to provide childcare places.

The ‘Two-year-olds in schools demonstration project’, was launched by the former education and childcare minster Elizabeth Truss, with the aim of encouraging more school-led nurseries.

Ms Truss announced the names of the schools taking part in the trial at the beginning of the year.

Speaking at the Policy Exchange event this week, the childcare and education minister Sam Gyimah said that parents whose two-year-olds took part in the ‘demonstration project’ were ‘overwhelmingly’ positive about it.

He added, ‘Some [parents] said how drop-off and pick-up times had become easier as all of their children were in the same place and as a result have been able to go back to work.

‘And the children enjoyed attending, their speech improved, and their social development was also boosted as a result.’

Mr Gyimah went on to reveal that the Department for Education has received 114 expressions of interest from teaching schools wanting a share of the £5m government funding to share best practice with early years providers.

The money, announced last month, is aimed at encouraging local areas to explore ways of improving their early years practice, ahead of the introduction of the Early Years Pupil Premium next April.

A condition for applying for the bids was that teaching schools should show how they will involve private, voluntary and independent childcare providers.