Headline figures
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Data set details
- Theme
- Early years
- Publication
- Funded early education and childcare
- API data set ID
- 019efe34-f746-72db-a258-06676f74ce09
How do I use this ID? - Release
- Reporting year 2026
- Release type
- Number of rows
- 224
- Geographic levels
- National
- Indicators
- Number of registered children
- Estimated number of eligible children
- Estimated percentage of eligible children registered
- Filters
- Entitlement type and age
- Time period
- 2011 to 2026
Data set preview
| time_period | time_identifier | geographic_level | country_code | country_name | entitlement_type | age | registered_children_count | registered_children_nursery_count | registered_children_reception_count | eligible_children_count | eligible_children_nursery_count | eligible_children_universal_credit_count | eligible_children_legacy_benefit_count | registered_eligible_children_percent | registered_eligible_children_nursery_percent | all_children_count | registered_all_children_percent | 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_private_voluntary_and_independent_count | staff_count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Reporting year | National | E92000001 | England | Total | Total | 1714427 | x | x | z | x | z | z | z | x | 2539433.484 | 67.512184 | 55340 | 16704 | 17322 | 795 | 401 | 19185 | 669 | 264 | 286675 |
| 2026 | Reporting year | National | E92000001 | England | Working parents | Total | 890483 | x | x | 1052000 | x | z | z | 85 | x | 2539433.484 | 35.066207 | 45822 | 7849 | 17161 | 547 | 382 | 18995 | 638 | 250 | x |
| 2026 | Reporting year | National | E92000001 | England | Working parents | 9 to 11 months | 30679 | x | x | 66000 | x | z | z | 46 | x | 135865 | 22.580503 | 13164 | 57 | 8406 | 83 | 172 | 4342 | 30 | 74 | x |
| 2026 | Reporting year | National | E92000001 | England | Working parents | 1 year | 210825 | x | x | 278000 | x | z | z | 76 | x | 571240.0346 | 36.906552 | 27768 | 153 | 11989 | 139 | 236 | 15070 | 59 | 122 | x |
| 2026 | Reporting year | National | E92000001 | England | Working parents | 2 years | 260238 | x | x | 283000 | x | z | z | 92 | x | 582143.2742 | 44.703428 | 34196 | 1984 | 16486 | 346 | 324 | 14499 | 340 | 217 | x |
Variables in this data set
| Variable name | Variable description |
|---|---|
| age | Entitlement type and 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 |
Footnotes
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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API data set details
- API data set name
- Headline figures
- API data set ID
- 019efe34-f746-72db-a258-06676f74ce09
- API data set version
- 1.0
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API data set version history
API data set updates come in 3 forms: Major, Minor and Patch.
- Major update (e.g. 1.x.x to 2.0.0): a breaking change meaning the removal of columns or rows from the data set.
- Minor update (e.g. 1.1.x to 1.2.0): non-breaking changes made as part of a new release (likely with new / additional data).
- Patch update (e.g. 1.1.0 to 1.1.1): a non-breaking change made as part of a release amendment (e.g. data corrections).
More detailed information on versioning can be found in our Versioning - Explore education statistics API.
Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Headline figures statistics and data:
Early Years Statistics Team
Email: earlyyears.statistics@education.gov.ukContact name: Jay Morris