PARENTS of nursery-age children in Bexley will be boosted by a £1m government grant to provide free places.
The announcement of the Nursery Education Grant for the next 12 months has been finalised with Bexley Council being allocated £1,225,308 to fund 1,006 free nursery school places.
The money has been provided in an effort to hit government targets of providing 66 per cent of three-year-olds with access to free nursery education by March.
Bexley's grant is part of a nationwide fund of £275m to provide the free nursery option.
It is hoped that, by providing the cash, attainment and performance targets will be improved.
News of the new grant for Bexley was welcomed by Erith and Thamesmead MP John Austin.
He said: "The national figure is good but locally it is even better news as nursery education will be freely available locally to all three-year-olds whose parents want it.
"In the longer term, if we want to see real improvements in performance and achievement in primary and secondary schools, we need to invest in early years."
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