Opportunities for schools and nurseries in the Autumn Budget

The Autumn Budget, which was announced in October, included major investments, and key considerations to support the education sector’s property needs.

Childcare hours

Funding for free childcare now covers children as young as 9 months, up to three and four years old.

The increased funding will of course be accompanied by increased demand for childcare places. This has an impact on the property needs of schools and nurseries, as they may need to acquire new property or build upon existing property in order to accommodate these extra childcare needs.

To address this the government has announced that £15 million has been set aside to begin the delivery of 3,000 school-based nurseries, with schools being able to bid for up to £150,000 to expand existing nurseries or open a new one, with an estimated figure of 300 new or expanded nurseries to open by September 2025.

Schools and college improvements

The budget also sees an additional £1.4 billion being dedicated to ensuring the School Rebuilding Programme can continue, a further £2.1 billion is being allocated to maintain and improve school buildings, and colleges will also receive £300 million to invest in the further education estate, to improve their facilities. This is in addition to the money previously set aside to address the RAAC crisis last year.

Support for property needs

It is clear the budget has therefore put a huge emphasis on supporting the education sector in developing their estate and properties as a standalone objective, as well as to complement their manifesto to support parents of young children with their return to work by providing funded childcare. This will no doubt lead to increased queries and transactions involving property legal work as schools and colleges attempt to navigate the Department for Education Guidance and legal procedures.

If your organisation needs assistance or advice with increasing your space, moving property or planning an expansion, then contact our expert real estate team who have a wealth of experience in the education sector.