The government has announced 66 schools will get extra funding to boost their nursery places – but ministers have failed to allocate all the promised cash. Under its school nurseries capital fund, the Department for . The commitment was included in the 2017 Conservative manifesto. The government has today announced 66 schools have won funding – but just £22 million has been allocated. The DfE said the remaining £8 million would go back into its capital funding pot. The shortfall in allocated cash certaintly wasn’t down to a lack of applicants. Figures released The £22 million will help schools boost nursery places in areas with high numbers of families who get free school meals, the DfE said. New places will be created through new builds and expansions of schools already rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’. The area with the most approved projects is the north west, with 17. The East Midlands has just three approved – which is the fewest (full list below). The announcement is part of a new campaign launched by education secretary Damian Hinds today to “encourage parents to kickstart their children’s learning at home”. Under the ‘Hungry Little Minds’ campaign, the government has committed to provide parents with “ideas on how to use everyday opportunities, like going to the shops and playing make-believe games, as part of a relentless society-wide effort to improve the early literacy and language skills in the years before children start school”. Hinds wants to tackle the “profound issue” of one in four children leaving their first year of school without the “skills in literacy, language and communication they need”. The 66 schools sharing £22m Newbold CofE Primary, Derbyshire, East Midlands Morven Park Primary and Nursery, Nottinghamshire, East Midlands Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary, Lincolnshire, East Midlands Prince Avenue Academy and Nursery, Southend-on-Sea, East of England Hogarth Primary, Essex, East of England Whitton Community Primary, Suffolk, East of England Canvey Island Infant, Essex, East of England Snape Community Primary, Suffolk, East of England St Clare’s Catholic Primary, Essex, East of England Forest Approach Academy, Havering, London Three Bridges Primary, Ealing, London Granton Primary, Lambeth, London Grange Primary, Newham, London Ark Oval Primary Academy, Croydon, London Cramlington Village Primary, Northumberland, North East Caldicotes Primary Academy, Middlesbrough, North East Central Walker Church of England Primary, Newcastle upon Tyne, North East New York Primary, North Tyneside, North East Stranton Primary, Hartlepool, North East Morpeth Road Academy, Northumberland, North East West Cornforth Primary, Durham, North East St Anne’s Catholic Primary, Wirral, North West Beechwood Primary School and Nursery, Cheshire East, North West Eastway Primary, Wirral, North West St Michael and All Angels Catholic, Wirral, North West Riverside Primary, Wirral, North West Unity Community, Manchester, North West Orgill Primary, Cumbria, North West Ash Grove Academy, Cheshire East, North West Warrington St Barnabas CofE Primary, Warrington, North West The District CofE Primary, St. Helens, North West Thames Primary Academy, Blackpool, North West Marsh Green Primary, Wigan, North West The Priory Parish CofE Primary, Wirral, North West St Paul’s Catholic Primary, Wirral, North West Northmoor Academy, Oldham, North West Kincraig Primary, Blackpool, North West Meadowside Community Primary and Nursery, Warrington, North West Greenfields Community Primary, Kent, South East Molehill Primary Academy, Kent, South East St Mary’s Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary, Kent, South East Pyrcroft Grange Primary, Surrey, South East Thomas Hickman, Buckinghamshire, South East Barton Hill Academy, Torbay, South West Southbroom Infants’, Wiltshire, South West St Dennis Primary Academy, Cornwall, South West Minerva Primary, Somerset, South West School of Christ The King Catholic Primary, Bristol, South West Princecroft Primary, Wiltshire, South West Oasis Academy Warndon, Worcestershire, West Midlands Victoria Park Primary, Sandwell, West Midlands Chadsgrove, Worcestershire, West Midlands Reynalds Cross, Solihull, West Midlands St Oswald’s CofE Primary, Worcestershire, West Midlands Northfield Manor Primary Academy, Birmingham, West Midlands Cleeve Prior CofE (Controlled) Primary, Worcestershire, West Midlands Ward End Primary, Birmingham, West Midlands St Mary’s CofE (VA) Primary, Worcestershire, West Midlands Goldsmith Primary Academy, Walsall, West Midlands Watercliffe Meadow Community Primary, Sheffield, Yorkshire and the Humber Selby Community Primary, North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber Fairburn View Primary, Wakefield, Yorkshire and the Humber Wybourn Community Primary & Nursery, Sheffield, Yorkshire and the Humber Mill Field Primary, Leeds, Yorkshire and the Humber Grange Primary, North East Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and the Humber Woodhouse West Primary, Sheffield, Yorkshire and the Humber