Rockwell Green C of E Primary School and Rockets Pre-school have received a significant boost with news that the county council has secured almost £1/4 million in funding for the school.

The money will be used to install a modular building on the school site and will allow the pre-school to expand to take in 40 children instead of the existing 24.

In addition, it will free up an extra space in the main school to allow for the increasing numbers who want to attend the popular and successful school.

County councillor for Rockwell Green, Cllr Andrew Govier, said: “I am really pleased that we have been able to secure this funding. I was involved in the initial move of the pre-school from the village hall to the school site a few years ago.

“Since then the pre-school has gone from strength to strength and provides an excellent start for the children who attend. The staff at Rockets are excellent and their hard work was acknowledged when they received an ‘Outstanding’ rating from Ofsted.”

Somerset County Council worked in partnership with six nurseries and pre-schools across Somerset to successfully bid for a combined £1.5 million from the Department for Education as part of the Government’s 30 hours free childcare offer. The county council is also supporting the projects with nearly £350,000 of capital funds.

School head teacher Morwenna Dunstan said: “We are delighted with this announcement. The pre-school is an integral part of our school and provides an excellent introduction to life at Rockwell Green.

“We are also pleased that the new building will free up an extra classroom in the main school. The numbers at the school have increased significantly in the last few years and we need the extra space to accommodate this growth.”

Concern has been expressed nationally about the level of revenue funding available to support the new childcare places and some private nurseries are reluctant to participate in the scheme. One of the reasons given is that the Government funding per hour will mean a reduced income for some settings.

Cllr Govier added: “Although I am really pleased that the school is getting this building, it is vital that the revenue funding is provided to support these places. We need to ensure that the Government provides this money otherwise the scheme will be unsustainable in the longer term.”