Room to grow
Think tank: Social Market Foundation
Author(s): Various authors
May 21, 2026
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation examines school-based nurseries and the disadvantage gap.
The School-based Nursery (or SBN) programme is a major government policy aiming to deliver on two early years priorities: to expand access to childcare for working families and to increase the proportion of children reaching a good level of development.
Beyond simply adding new places, the success of the policy is not guaranteed. There is also limited data about how best to implement SBNs. Therefore, this project aims to add significant data to the evidence base, considering particularly the extent to which school-based nurseries can meet the needs of children from families facing disadvantage.
Funded by the Nuffield Foundation and supported by the Centre for Research in Early Childhood, the project involves a rapid evidence review alongside original research by a team of researchers from the Sutton Trust and the Social Market Foundation. This includes a survey of over 1,300 primary school senior leaders and case studies of early years settings across the country, focusing on those with a high proportion of disadvantaged or SEND children.
