Families in the capital are poised to benefit from a major expansion of school-run nursery places, with 34 institutions confirmed to receive backing for creating or extending childcare services from September.

The programme forms part of a wider £45 million drive across the country aimed at cutting childcare costs, helping working parents, and ensuring young children get a solid start in life.

Officials said the expansion would bring relief to working households across London, where high costs and limited options have long made it hard for parents to balance jobs and childcare.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer drew on his own experience as a parent to describe the challenges of juggling work and family life. He welcomed the new on-site nurseries, saying they would offer real help to London parents by cutting costs, making daily logistics easier, and giving children the best possible start.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson highlighted that by targeting new nursery capacity in areas with the greatest demand, including London, the government is making sure more families can access good-quality early education close to home.

This programme builds on other assistance for London households dealing with living costs, including:

Thirty hours of state-funded childcare, delivering substantial savings for parents

Free breakfast clubs, worth around £450 per child annually

Steps to control the cost of school uniforms

Widened eligibility for free school meals

London schools awarded nursery expansion funding:

Thirty-four schools across the capital have been allocated funding.

Barking and Dagenham

Goresbrook School (Barking)

Bexley

Fairford Academy Barnehurst (Bexleyheath and Crayford)

Mayplace Primary School (Bexleyheath and Crayford)

Pelham Primary School (Bexleyheath and Crayford)

Brent

Mount Stewart Infant School (Brent West)

Bromley

Harris Primary Academy Orpington (Orpington)

Croydon

Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School (Croydon South)

Ealing

Wolf Fields Primary School (Ealing Southall)

Enfield

Alma Primary School (Enfield North)

Firs Farm Primary School (Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)

St Matthew’s CofE Primary School (Enfield North)

Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy (Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)

Worcestershire Primary School (Enfield North)

Hackney

Comet Nursery School and Children’s Centre (Hackney South and Shoreditch)

Harrington Hill Primary School (Hackney North and Stoke Newington)

Haringey

Earlham Primary School (Southgate and Wood Green)

Risley Avenue Primary School (Southgate and Wood Green)

St Mary’s CofE Primary School (Hornsey and Friern Barnet)

The Devonshire Hill Nursery & Primary School (Tottenham)

The Mulberry Primary School (Tottenham)

Harrow

Priestmead Primary School and Nursery (Harrow East)

St John’s CofE School (Harrow East)

Havering

R J Mitchell Primary School (Dagenham and Rainham)

Kensington and Chelsea

Bevington Primary School (Kensington and Bayswater)

Lewisham

Kender Primary School (Lewisham North)

Myatt Garden Primary School (Lewisham North)

St George’s CofE Primary School (Lewisham West and East Dulwich)

St James’s Hatcham Church of England Primary School (Lewisham North)

Merton

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School (Wimbledon)

Newham

Monega Primary School (East Ham)

Sutton

Abbey Primary School (Carshalton and Wallington)

Waltham Forest

Church Hill Nursery School (Walthamstow)

Wandsworth

Eastwood Nursery School (Putney)

Franciscan Primary School (Tooting)

Across the country, 331 schools will receive funding to create hundreds of new childcare places, particularly in areas where parents face the greatest challenges in finding provision.