Both St Benet's Catholic Primary School in Beccles and St Edmund's Catholic Primary School in Bungay will now be able to upgrade their early years facilities.

The funding, awarded through the School-based Nursery Capital Grant 2026, will increase the availability of nursery places in both towns and enable the recruitment of two new staff members at each school.

St Edmund's in Bungay has secured £150k to redevelop its nursery provision (Image: St Edmund's Catholic Primary School)

Executive headteacher, Patrick Kennedy, said: "There's such a need in the community for something like this.

"We are delighted to be successful and to be able to improve our facilities for the children and families in our community.

The schools secured the funds after a consultation period with the families and the local authority (Image: St Edmund's Catholic Primary School)

"This will help us give the best start to those in their early years, which is so important."

Although neither school requires major construction, both will undergo internal alterations to reconfigure and expand existing spaces.

The redevelopment will create 15 new nursery places at each school.

St Benet's school in Beccles will now offer 15 new nursery places as part of the upgrade (Image: St Benet's Catholic Primary School)

St Benet's, which already has a dedicated early years building, will refurbish its current facilities and invest in new resources, while St Edmund's will create an additional classroom space as part of its upgrade.

Mr Kenned added: "We will be undergoing a complete redevelopment to create that new area and to be able to support those additional numbers."

There's hopes the funding will enable the schools to give the best start to those in their early years (Image: St Benet's Catholic Primary School)

Both schools, part of the St John the Baptist Catholic Multi Academy Trust, expect all works to be completed over the summer break, ready for the start of the new school year in September.

The school-based Nursery Capital Grant provides up to £150,000 for eligible state-funded primary schools and maintained nursery schools seeking to create or expand their on-site nursery provision.

St Benet's and St Edmund's were able to secure the funding following a consultation with the local authority and families at the school.

© Eastern Daily Press