School Based Nursery Capital Grant Phase 3
Guidance notes
School-Based Nursery Capital Grant – Phase 3 (2027–2030) - Supporting Guidance for Completing the Application Form
Purpose of These Guidance Notes
These guidance notes support applicants to complete the Essex School-Based Nursery (SBN) Capital Grant Phase 3 Application Form. They should be read in full alongside the application form and supporting documents.
Submission of an application does not guarantee funding or inclusion in Essex County Council’s final bid to the Department for Education (DfE).
About the Programme
The School-Based Nursery Capital Grant is a Department for Education initiative delivered locally by Essex County Council. It aims to increase access to high-quality early years provision between 2027 and 2030, with particular focus on areas of identified childcare sufficiency pressure and disadvantage.
Further guidance and support to help you prepare and submit your application is available from the following sources:
🟦 Department for Education – Official SBN Phase 3 Guidance
- This publication provides non-statutory guidance from the Department for Education (DfE). It has been produced to help schools, governing bodies and childcare providers establish nursery provision on school sites, in collaboration with local authorities and responsible bodies: Establishing school-based nursery provision
🟦 Essex ‑Specific Support and Local Guidance
- Essex Early Years & Childcare: School ‑Based Nursery Provision Guidance – requirements, considerations, and resources specific to Essex settings.: Essex – School‑Based Nursery Provision
- Essex Childcare Sufficiency Assessment – Our assessment looks at local demographics, demand and the quality of childcare available across Essex. Essex EYCC Childcare-sufficiency-assessment
Contact details
Business Management Consultants (BMCs) email: BMC@essex.gov.uk
Children's Community Development Leads (CCDLs) email: CCDL@essex.gov.uk
Resources:
- Business plan template (word, 146KB)
- EY Bid1 project concept (Word, 43KB)
- Checklist for early years building projects (Word, 1.7 MB)
- Freeholder consent form guidance (PDF, 150KB)
- Freeholder consent form (Word 43KB)
- LLC1 Project concept (Word, 46KB)
- Three-year cash flow template (Excel, 82KB)
- HSP 10.3 Passive fire safety policy (Word, 43KB)
- SBN3 Scoring Matrix
Please note the above documents are not accessible. If you require in an accessible format, contact ey.capitalgrants@essex.gov.uk
Before You Apply – Important Information
• All sections of the application form must be completed in full.
• Word limits must be adhered to.
• All required supporting documents must be provided.
• Applications missing required documentation will not proceed to assessment.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools must not be used to complete the application.
• Supporting documents must be submitted in Word or Excel format only (no scanned documents or zipped files).
• All files must be clearly named using the setting name and document purpose in the format SCHOOL NAME_SBN PHASE 3_DOCUMENT PURPOSE
How your application is assessed
Applications will be assessed by Essex County Council (ECC) against published criteria to determine which proposals will be supported and submitted to the Department for Education (DfE).
Assessment will consider:
- Clear evidence of local childcare need, supported by appropriate data and local information
- Written confirmation from ECC Early Years and Childcare that the project is supported and that a sufficiency need exists
- Quality, deliverability and value for money, assessed using the published scoring matrix
Where more applications are received in an area than local need or available funding allows, assessment scores will be used to prioritise which applications are submitted to the DfE.
Submission of an application does not guarantee funding or inclusion in ECC’s final bid.