- Portsmouth one of 30 areas where £4,500 bonus is set to attract nursery teachers
- Supports local nurseries to recruit teachers and unlock childcare worth up to £8,000 for families
- Targets communities where children are least likely to be school ready or lacking teachers
The Labour government will attract more qualified teachers to nurseries in Portsmouth with £4,500 bonuses – ensuring tens of thousands more children get the best start in life.
The move, welcomed by local MP Stephen Morgan, will also help more local families access their funded childcare entitlement as rolled out by Labour. The 30 funded hours offer, worth up to £8,000 a year, will be supported by giving Portsmouth’s nurseries the qualified staff they need to open more places.
Early years education was seriously undervalued by the Conservatives and, as a result, fewer than one in ten nursery staff currently hold a graduate teaching qualification – yet evidence shows that the more highly qualified the staff, the better the outcomes for children.
The extra cash bonus will help recruit and retain the best teachers in communities like Portsmouth that need them most, raising the quality of teaching for every child who walks through the door.
The first wave has now launched in 10 areas, and Portsmouth will be included in the second wave of 30 communities later this year. Portsmouth was selected based on deprivation, teacher shortages and school readiness levels.
Just 58% of children in the most deprived communities reach the desired level of development by the end of reception, compared to 77% in the least deprived areas. Labour’s targeted scheme puts more qualified staff into the communities that have been left behind – levelling the playing field for every child.
Today’s announcement exceeds Labour’s initial pledge – backing nursery teachers across 30 communities, up from the 20 areas first announced last July – delivering on the Education Secretary’s core belief that background should never mean destiny.
Commenting on the announcement, Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South said:
“Children growing up in Portsmouth deserve the best start in life.
“I’m delighted that Labour is both recognising the vital contribution of local early years teachers and taking action to attract the best and brightest to Portsmouth’s nurseries.
“This way, we can boost our children’s life chances and save families money with more accessible and affordable childcare – as Labour tackles the cost of living.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:
“It shouldn’t matter if you’re born in Sandwell or Middlesbrough, in Rochdale or Rotherham – every child deserves the best teachers, with the best tools at their disposal, to give them the very best start in life.
“These measures will help nurseries attract and keep more qualified staff — so they can deliver the funded childcare that saves families up to £8,000 a year in the communities that need it most.”
Alongside the bonus, Labour’s new partnership grants will for the first time fund nurseries, childminders, and schools to formally work together. Staff will be able to visit each other’s settings, share teaching approaches and build stronger links with families so children arrive at school confident and ready.
18 new hubs of excellent nursery teaching have also been confirmed today – doubling the network to 36 across England. The Early Years Stronger Practice Hub programme is designed to bring the best nurseries and childminders together to share what works and will host specialist advisors and leads in early language, maths and personal, social and emotional development, delivering tailored training to early years educators so the highest quality teaching and practices reach more children in more communities.
Further work will follow, including a consultation on how to raise the status and recognition of early years teachers, removing barriers to increased pay in relevant settings.
This work is part of Labour’s mission to get tens of thousands more children school-ready by 2028, combining efforts to upskill the workforce through the Early Years Teacher Degree Apprenticeship and attract new nursery staff via the Do Something Big campaign.
It will also help families with 30 hours of funded childcare, worth up to £8,000 a year, helping with the cost of living while expanding places through new Best Start school-based nurseries in the communities that need them most.
