Exclusive: Education secretary to launch callout for empty classrooms to be converted as part of free childcare plan

Three hundred new state nurseries will open in England’s schools by next September, the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has promised, as the government hurries to find places before the introduction of free childcare.

Phillipson’s department is under extraordinary pressure before next September, when 30 hours of free childcare begins for eligible parents of children from the age of nine months. Labour has said it would fulfil the promise by the previous government, despite warnings about the demands on staff and nursery places.