The Department for Education is inviting applications for funding for Early Education Partnerships: up to 100 partnerships of early-years providers and state-funded primary schools will receive funding to help them to work together, share resources, knowledge and expertise, and prepare children for starting reception. The focus is on children with special educational needs and disabilities, additional needs and disadvantaged backgrounds.
The aims are to:
- strengthen transitions from early years settings to school
- improve reception readiness
- build the evidence base for effective early years transitions and reception readiness practice and embed this across the sector
You can select from four priority areas to help shape the activities for your partnership:
- Continuity of learning
- Professional development and shared practice
- Family engagement
- Information and resource sharing
Applications are now being accepted for Year 1 – the development phase of the programme, running from September 2026 to March 2027. Grants range from £12,500 to £50,000, depending on the size of your partnership.
Partnerships may include nurseries, childminders, maintained nursery schools and school-based nurseries working with primary schools. Eligible partnerships must include at least one primary school with a reception cohort and at least one other early years provider and cannot consist solely of a primary school and its own nursery provision.
You can sign up for one of the webinars (16 June, 18 June and 23 June) to find out more about the programme.
Focus of fund/fund aims:
To support collaboration between early years providers and schools in order to improve school readiness at reception age
Application deadline:
17 July 2026
Fund description:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-partnerships-funding