Guidance

School-based Nursery Capital Grant 2025 to 2026

Information for eligible schools about the School-based Nursery (SBN) Capital Grant for 2025 to 2026.

From:
Department for Education
Published
4 September 2025
Last updated
1114 DecemberNovember 2025 — See all updates

Applies to England

GrantAbout applicationsthe grant

ApplicationsThe for the School-based Nursery (SBN) Capital Grant for 2025 to 2026 haveis nowavailable closed.

Iffor youeligible applied,state-funded youprimary-phase can signschools intoand themaintained onlinenursery applicationschools serviceto and:

  • checkapply thefor statusup to £150,000 of yourcapital application
  • downloadfunding to create or expand a copyschool-based nursery.

    This is the second phase of yourthe applicationschool-based andnurseries anyprogramme. supportingIt documents

Usebuilds on the samefoundations sign-inof detailsphase you1 used(SBN Capital Grant 2024 to submit2025) yourand application.

Registrationhas ofan interest

Theincreased registrationfocus ofon interestsupporting hasdisadvantaged alsofamilies nowto closed.access early years provision.

Eligibility

IfMake sure that you registeredcarefully yourread interest,the:

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Aboutincludes thesecuring grant

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Schools that received SBN Capital Grant funding in phase 1 are not eligible to apply for 2024phase 2. However, they will be eligible to 2025)work andwith hastheir anlocal increasedauthority focusas onpart supportingof disadvantagedphase families3. Refer to accessthe earlyguidance yearsfor provision.more information.

For

How moreto information,apply

You readcan use the School-basedtemplate Nurseryapplication Capital Grant 2025 to 2026form (PDF,MS 718Word KBDocument, 50583 pagesKB) guidance.

Whatto happenshelp next

Bygather Aprilthe 2026,necessary weinformation aimahead toof emailapplying allfor applicantsthe withgrant through the outcomeonline ofapplication theirservice.

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  • givethrough youother moreroutes detailsor aboutafter thethis paymentdeadline.

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    If requirementsyou’re anda timelinesprimary beforeschool youor signa it

    • Themaintained agreementnursery isschool legallyinterested bindingin andopening outlines:

    • youror rolesexpanding anda responsibilities
    • theSBN termsbut andare conditionsnot youeligible mustor followready to receiveapply thefor funding

    Ifphase your2, applicationregister isyour unsuccessful,interest youthrough maythe beonline eligibleapplication toservice.

    This workis withavailable yourfrom local24 authoritySeptember as2025 partto of11 phaseDecember 3.2025. MoreFor informationfurther isdetails, availablerefer into the guidance.

    Contact us

    We encourage all applicants to sign up to receive emails about updates to this page. If

    Refer youto havethe ‘Contact aus’ and ‘Technical querysupport’ sections in the guidance to find the most appropriate way to get in touch about your query.

    To allow sufficient time for the school-basedteam nurseriesto programme,assist useyou, we recommend that you submit your enquiry at least 5 working days before the customerapplication helpdeadline. portalWe will endeavour to contactrespond us.to all enquiries, but cannot guarantee a response before the application deadline.

    We are unable to provide any advice related to individual applications due to their competitive nature.

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 September 2025
    Last updated 1114 DecemberNovember 2025 + show all updates

    1. Updated to reflect that the application and registration of interest processes have closed and to set out next steps.

    2. Updated the ‘School-based Nursery Capital Grant guidance’ to include details on application sharing in ‘Role of local authorities’, information on the School Rebuilding Programme in ‘Other key considerations’, our scoring approach if funding remains available in ‘How we will assess your application’, and revised wording on articulating project risk in ‘Project Overview’. These updates are for clarification only. The application process has not changed.

    3. Updated the School-based Nursery Capital Grant guidance to include information about webinars and how schools can withdraw an application.

    4. First published.

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