Data set from Funded early education and childcare

Headline figures

Latest data

Published 17 July 2025

Last updated 17 July 2025

Headline statistics including children registered for and providers and staff delivering entitlements, by entitlement type.

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Data set details

• Theme: Early years
• Publication: Funded early education and childcare
• Release: Reporting year 2025
• Number of rows: 195
• Geographic levels: National
• Indicators:
  • Number of registered children
  • Estimated number of eligible children
  • Estimated percentage of eligible children registered
• Filters:
  • Age
• Time period: 2011 to 2025

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Data set preview

Table showing first 5 rows, from underlying data

time_period	time_identifier	geographic_level	country_code	country_name	entitlement_type	age	registered_children_count	registered_children_reception_count	eligible_children_count	eligible_children_universal_credit_count	eligible_children_legacy_benefit_count	registered_eligible_children_rate	all_children_count	registered_all_children_rate	providers_count	state_funded_schools_count	private_and_voluntary_providers_count	independent_schools_count	local_authority_day_nurseries_count	childminders_count	state_funded_governor_run_count	other_pvis_count	staff_count
2025	Reporting year	National	E92000001	England	Total	Total	1707855	x	z	z	z	z	2552250	66.91566265	55020	16757	17792	785	278	18546	840	22	272491
2025	Reporting year	National	E92000001	England	Working parents	Total	836511	x	1055000	z	z	79	2552250	32.77543344	44794	7333	17572	538	262	18267	803	19	x
2025	Reporting year	National	E92000001	England	Working parents	9 to 11 months old	29155	x	69000	z	z	42	142099	20.51738577	12424	32	8045	73	91	4158	25	0	x
2025	Reporting year	National	E92000001	England	Working parents	1-year-olds	195104	x	279000	z	z	70	574165	33.980476	26239	106	11685	113	148	14130	53	4	x
2025	Reporting year	National	E92000001	England	Working parents	2-year-olds	233223	x	289000	z	z	81	595225	39.18232601	31096	0	16715	327	207	13426	407	14	x

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Variables in this data set

Table showing first 5 of 18 variables

Variable name	Variable description
age	Age
all_children_count	Estimated number of all children
childminders_count	Number of childminders
eligible_children_count	Estimated number of eligible children
eligible_children_legacy_benefit_count	Estimated number of eligible children: legacy benefit

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Footnotes

1. Children attending a general hospital school and a small number of children attending a special school do not follow the national curriculum. These children are included in totals but not breakdowns by year group.
2. Where children under 4 years of age are recorded as in reception, this may be because they attend a school with a mixed-year class, because the local authority has agreed it would be beneficial to start reception year early, or for another reason.
3. A very small number of children under 5 years of age are registered in a higher year group than reception. This may be because the local authority has agreed it would be beneficial for the child, or for another reason. These children have been included in the reception category.
4. Since 2019, data cleaning exercises with local authorities each year have improved data quality. Provider types have become more accurately recorded over the years and caution should therefore be taken when comparing changes in provider types between years, particularly for childminders and state-funded governor run provision, which has been reclassified from other in some instances.
5. State-funded governor-run provision is included in the private, voluntary and independent providers category because data for these providers is returned on the early years census.
6. Data collected in 2021 (and to a lesser extent 2022) was affected by the impact of COVID-19 uncertainty on providers and parents. Further information is available on the methodology page.
7. Local authority day nurseries are included in the private, voluntary and independent providers category because data for these providers is returned on the early years census.

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