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Reporting year 2021
Childcare and early years survey of parents
Data guidance
Published
The Technical Report which accompanies this report provides further methodological information on the survey design, sample, fieldwork, data analysis, interpretation, weighting and definitions used.
Data files
All data files associated with this releases are listed below with guidance on their content. To download any of these files, please visit our data catalogue.
Percentage of children aged 0-4 using childcare providers in the most recent term time week, 2010 to 2021
Filename
ceysp21_childcare_use_0_4_ts.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2010 to 2021
Content
The proportion of children aged 0-4 using any childcare, formal childcare, informal childcare in the most recent term time week by year.
The Technical Report which accompanies this report provides further methodological information on the survey design, sample, fieldwork, data analysis, interpretation, weighting and definitions used.
The survey uses a broad definition of ‘childcare’: Parents were asked to include any time that the child was not with a resident parent, a resident parent’s current (or ex-) husband, wife, or partner, or at school. In order to remind parents to include all possible people or organisations that may have looked after their children, they were shown a list of childcare providers: nursery schools, nursery classes, reception classes, special day schools, day nurseries, playgroups, childminders, nannies or au-pairs, baby-sitters, breakfast clubs, after-school clubs and holiday clubs, grandparents, older brother/sisters, other relatives, friends or neighbours. Estimates for the use of ‘any childcare’ and ‘informal childcare’ prior to the 2019 wave include ex-husbands/wives/partners as a form of childcare, and this should be borne in mind when making comparisons across survey years.
Detailed information about childcare was collected for one ‘reference child’ in each household- Because of the constraint of interview length, detailed information on the use and needs of all children in the family could not be collected (unless the child was an only child). Rather, in families where there were two or more children, we obtained a broad picture about the childcare arrangements of all children, before asking more detailed questions about one randomly selected child.
Detailed information was collected for childcare use during term-time periods: As childcare arrangements may vary between school term-time and school holidays, most of the questions focused on a reference term-time week (which was the most recent term-time week). A separate set of questions was asked about the use of childcare during the school holidays.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Childcare_type
Childcare type
Proportion
Percentage of children aged 0-4 using childcare providers in the most recent term time week, 2010 to 2021
Footnotes
x is used when the data is unavailable. This is used when the data was not collected in that year.
Caution should be taken when comparing 2021 figures with previous years due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
2010 data corresponds to 2010-11, 2011 data corresponds to 2011-12, 2012 data corresponds to 2012-13, 2014 data corresponds to 2014-15.
There was no survey in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
2020 data is presented separately in the supporting files due to a limited sample caused by COVID-19 disruption, limiting comparisons.
Estimates for the use of ‘any childcare’ and ‘informal childcare’ prior to the 2019 wave include ex-husbands/wives/partners as a form of childcare, and this should be borne in mind when making comparisons across survey years
Percentage of children aged 0-14 using childcare providers in the most recent term time week, 2010 to 2021
Filename
ceysp21_childcare_use_0_14_ts_v2.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2010 to 2021
Content
The proportion of children aged 0-14 using any childcare, formal childcare, informal childcare in the most recent term time week by year.
The Technical Report which accompanies this report provides further methodological information on the survey design, sample, fieldwork, data analysis, interpretation, weighting and definitions used.
The survey uses a broad definition of ‘childcare’: Parents were asked to include any time that the child was not with a resident parent, a resident parent’s current (or ex-) husband, wife, or partner, or at school. In order to remind parents to include all possible people or organisations that may have looked after their children, they were shown a list of childcare providers: nursery schools, nursery classes, reception classes, special day schools, day nurseries, playgroups, childminders, nannies or au-pairs, baby-sitters, breakfast clubs, after-school clubs and holiday clubs, grandparents, older brother/sisters, other relatives, friends or neighbours. Estimates for the use of ‘any childcare’ and ‘informal childcare’ prior to the 2019 wave include ex-husbands/wives/partners as a form of childcare, and this should be borne in mind when making comparisons across survey years.
Detailed information about childcare was collected for one ‘reference child’ in each household- Because of the constraint of interview length, detailed information on the use and needs of all children in the family could not be collected (unless the child was an only child). Rather, in families where there were two or more children, we obtained a broad picture about the childcare arrangements of all children, before asking more detailed questions about one randomly selected child.
Detailed information was collected for childcare use during term-time periods: As childcare arrangements may vary between school term-time and school holidays, most of the questions focused on a reference term-time week (which was the most recent term-time week). A separate set of questions was asked about the use of childcare during the school holidays.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Childcare_type
Childcare type
Proportion
Percentage of children aged 0-14 using childcare
Footnotes
x is used when the data is unavailable. This is used when the data was not collected in that year.
Caution should be taken when comparing 2021 figures with previous years due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
2010 data corresponds to 2010-11, 2011 data corresponds to 2011-12, 2012 data corresponds to 2012-13, 2014 data corresponds to 2014-15. There was no survey in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
2019 survey was with families with children aged 0-4 and so the data are not directly comparable.
2020 data is presented separately in the supporting files due to a limited sample caused by COVID-19 disruption, limiting comparisons.
Estimates for the use of ‘any childcare’ and ‘informal childcare’ prior to the 2019 wave include ex-husbands/wives/partners as a form of childcare, and this should be borne in mind when making comparisons across survey years
z refers to an observation that is not applicable. This is used for 2019 data as this was completed by parents of 0-4s only.
Percentage of families with school-age children using childcare during school holidays, 2008 to 2021
Filename
ceysp21_childcare_school_holidays_ts_v2.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2008 to 2021
Content
The proportion of families with school-aged children using any childcare, formal childcare, informal childcare, no childcare during school holidays by year.
The Technical Report which accompanies this report provides further methodological information on the survey design, sample, fieldwork, data analysis, interpretation, weighting and definitions used.
The survey uses a broad definition of ‘childcare’: Parents were asked to include any time that the child was not with a resident parent, a resident parent’s current (or ex-) husband, wife, or partner, or at school. In order to remind parents to include all possible people or organisations that may have looked after their children, they were shown a list of childcare providers: nursery schools, nursery classes, reception classes, special day schools, day nurseries, playgroups, childminders, nannies or au-pairs, baby-sitters, breakfast clubs, after-school clubs and holiday clubs, grandparents, older brother/sisters, other relatives, friends or neighbours. Estimates for the use of ‘any childcare’ and ‘informal childcare’ prior to the 2019 wave include ex-husbands/wives/partners as a form of childcare, and this should be borne in mind when making comparisons across survey years.
Detailed information about childcare was collected for one ‘reference child’ in each household- Because of the constraint of interview length, detailed information on the use and needs of all children in the family could not be collected (unless the child was an only child). Rather, in families where there were two or more children, we obtained a broad picture about the childcare arrangements of all children, before asking more detailed questions about one randomly selected child.
Detailed information was collected for childcare use during term-time periods: As childcare arrangements may vary between school term-time and school holidays, most of the questions focused on a reference term-time week (which was the most recent term-time week). A separate set of questions was asked about the use of childcare during the school holidays.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Proportion
Proportion
Type_of_childcare
Childcare type
Footnotes
x is used when the data is unavailable. This is used when the data was not collected in that year.
Caution should be taken when comparing 2021 figures with previous years due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
2010 data corresponds to 2010-11, 2011 data corresponds to 2011-12, 2012 data corresponds to 2012-13, 2014 data corresponds to 2014-15. There was no survey in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
2019 survey was with families with children aged 0-4 and so the data are not directly comparable.
2020 data is presented separately in the supporting files due to a limited sample caused by COVID-19 disruption, limiting comparisons.
Estimates for the use of ‘any childcare’ and ‘informal childcare’ prior to the 2019 wave include ex-husbands/wives/partners as a form of childcare, and this should be borne in mind when making comparisons across survey years
z refers to an observation that is not applicable. This is used for 2019 data as this was completed by parents of 0-4s only.
Percentage of families with child(ren) aged 0 to 4 aware of the 15 hours offer
Filename
ceysp21_awareness_15_hours.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2021
Content
The proportion of families with child(ren) aged 0 to 4 who are aware of the 15 hours offer for 3 to 4 year olds by family type, family work status, family annual income, number of children in family, age of children in family, area deprivation and rurality.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Awareness
Awareness of the 15 hours offer
Family_characteristic
Family and area characteristics
Proportion
Proportion selecting reason
Footnotes
Caution should be taken with 2021 figures due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
Percentage of families with child(ren) aged 0 to 4 aware of the 30 hours offer
Filename
ceysp21_awareness_30_hours.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2021
Content
The proportion of families with child(ren) aged 0 to 4 who are aware of the 30hours offer for 3 to 4 year olds by family type, family work status, family annual income, number of children in family, age of children in family, area deprivation and rurality.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Awareness
Awareness of the 30 hours offer
Family_characteristic
Family and area characteristics
Proportion
Proportion selecting reason
Footnotes
Caution should be taken with 2021 figures due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
Perceptions of local childcare provision, 2004 to 2021
Filename
ceysp21_parent_perceptions_ts_v2.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2004 to 2021
Content
The proportion of families with child(ren) aged 0 to 14 and their perceptions of local childcare by year.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Proportion
Proportion
Response_breakdown
Response selected
Type_of_perception
Type of perception
Footnotes
x is used when the data is unavailable. This is used when the data was not collected in that year.
Caution should be taken when comparing 2021 figures with previous years due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
2010 data corresponds to 2010-11, 2011 data corresponds to 2011-12, 2012 data corresponds to 2012-13, 2014 data corresponds to 2014-15.
There was no survey in 2005, 2006, 2013, 2015, 2016.
2019 survey was with families with children aged 0-4 and so the data are not directly comparable.
2020 data is presented separately in the supporting files due to a limited sample caused by COVID-19 disruption, limiting comparisons.
z refers to an observation that is not applicable. This is used for 2019 data as this was completed by parents of 0-4s only.
Percentage of parents finding it difficult or very difficult to meet their childcare costs, 2008 to 2021
Filename
ceysp21_difficulty_paying_ts.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2008 to 2021
Content
The proportion of families who paid for childcare in the last week who found it difficult or very difficult to meet their childcare costs by age of children in family and year.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Age_of_children
Age of children in family
Proportion
Proportion of parents finding it difficult or very difficult to meet their childcare costs
Footnotes
x is used when the data is unavailable. This is used when the data was not collected in that year.
Caution should be taken when comparing 2021 figures with previous years due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
2010 data corresponds to 2010-11, 2011 data corresponds to 2011-12, 2012 data corresponds to 2012-13, 2014 data corresponds to 2014-15. There was no survey in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
2019 survey was with families with children aged 0-4 and so the data are not directly comparable.
2020 data is presented separately in the supporting files due to a limited sample caused by COVID-19 disruption, limiting comparisons.
z refers to an observation that is not applicable. This is used for 2019 data as this was completed by parents of 0-4s only.
Changes to childcare provision that would make it better suited to parents’ needs by age of children in the family
Filename
ceysp21_changes_to_provision.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2021
Content
The proportion of families with child(ren) aged 0 to 14 selecting the changes to childcare arrangements that would make it better suited to their needs by family annual income and rurality.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Change
Changes to childcare provision that would make it better suited to parents’ needs
Family_characteristic
Family and area characteristics
Proportion
Proportion selecting reason
Footnotes
Caution should be taken with 2021 figures due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
Percentage of parents rating the affordability of local childcare as very or fairly good, 2008 to 2021
Filename
ceysp21_affordability_age_ts.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2008 to 2021
Content
The proportion of families with child(ren) aged 0 to 14 rating the affordability of local childcare as very or fairly good over time.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Age_of_children
Age of children in family
Proportion
Percentage of parents rating the affordability of local childcare as very or fairly good
Footnotes
x is used when the data is unavailable. This is used when the data was not collected in that year.
Caution should be taken when comparing 2021 figures with previous years due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
2010 data corresponds to 2010-11, 2011 data corresponds to 2011-12, 2012 data corresponds to 2012-13, 2014 data corresponds to 2014-15. There was no survey in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
2019 survey was with families with children aged 0-4 and so the data are not directly comparable.
2020 data is presented separately in the supporting files due to a limited sample caused by COVID-19 disruption, limiting comparisons.
z refers to an observation that is not applicable. This is used for 2019 data as this was completed by parents of 0-4s only.
Percentage of parents rating the quality of local childcare as very or fairly good, 2008 to 2021
Filename
ceysp21_quality_age_ts.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2008 to 2021
Content
The proportion of families with child(ren) aged 0 to 14 rating the quality of local childcare as very or fairly good over time.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Age_of_children
Age of children in family
Proportion
Percentage of parents rating the quality of local childcare as very or fairly good
Footnotes
x is used when the data is unavailable. This is used when the data was not collected in that year.
Caution should be taken when comparing 2021 figures with previous years due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
2010 data corresponds to 2010-11, 2011 data corresponds to 2011-12, 2012 data corresponds to 2012-13, 2014 data corresponds to 2014-15. There was no survey in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
2019 survey was with families with children aged 0-4 and so the data are not directly comparable.
2020 data is presented separately in the supporting files due to a limited sample caused by COVID-19 disruption, limiting comparisons.
z refers to an observation that is not applicable. This is used for 2019 data as this was completed by parents of 0-4s only.
Percentage of parents saying the availability of local childcare places is ‘about right’, 2008 to 2021
Filename
ceysp21_availability_age_ts.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2008 to 2021
Content
The proportion of families with child(ren) aged 0 to 14 rating the availability of local childcare as ‘about right’ over time.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Age_of_children
Age of children in family
Proportion
Percentage of parents saying the availability of local childcare places is ‘about right’
Footnotes
x is used when the data is unavailable. This is used when the data was not collected in that year.
Caution should be taken when comparing 2021 figures with previous years due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
2010 data corresponds to 2010-11, 2011 data corresponds to 2011-12, 2012 data corresponds to 2012-13, 2014 data corresponds to 2014-15. There was no survey in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
2019 survey was with families with children aged 0-4 and so the data are not directly comparable.
2020 data is presented separately in the supporting files due to a limited sample caused by COVID-19 disruption, limiting comparisons.
z refers to an observation that is not applicable. This is used for 2019 data as this was completed by parents of 0-4s only.
Percentage of families using childcare providers among families with children aged 0 to 4 years, 2010 to 2021
Filename
ceysp21_childcare_use_0_4_ts_families.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2010 to 2021
Content
The proportion of families with children aged 0-4 using any childcare, formal childcare and informal childcare by year.
The Technical Report which accompanies this report provides further methodological information on the survey design, sample, fieldwork, data analysis, interpretation, weighting and definitions used.
The survey uses a broad definition of ‘childcare’: Parents were asked to include any time that the child was not with a resident parent, a resident parent’s current (or ex-) husband, wife, or partner, or at school. In order to remind parents to include all possible people or organisations that may have looked after their children, they were shown a list of childcare providers: nursery schools, nursery classes, reception classes, special day schools, day nurseries, playgroups, childminders, nannies or au-pairs, baby-sitters, breakfast clubs, after-school clubs and holiday clubs, grandparents, older brother/sisters, other relatives, friends or neighbours. Estimates for the use of ‘any childcare’ and ‘informal childcare’ prior to the 2019 wave include ex-husbands/wives/partners as a form of childcare, and this should be borne in mind when making comparisons across survey years.
Detailed information about childcare was collected for one ‘reference child’ in each household- Because of the constraint of interview length, detailed information on the use and needs of all children in the family could not be collected (unless the child was an only child). Rather, in families where there were two or more children, we obtained a broad picture about the childcare arrangements of all children, before asking more detailed questions about one randomly selected child.
Detailed information was collected for childcare use during term-time periods: As childcare arrangements may vary between school term-time and school holidays, most of the questions focused on a reference term-time week (which was the most recent term-time week). A separate set of questions was asked about the use of childcare during the school holidays.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Childcare_type
Childcare type
Proportion
Percentage of children aged 0-4 using childcare providers in the most recent term time week, 2010 to 2021
Footnotes
x is used when the data is unavailable. This is used when the data was not collected in that year.
Caution should be taken when comparing 2021 figures with previous years due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
2010 data corresponds to 2010-11, 2011 data corresponds to 2011-12, 2012 data corresponds to 2012-13, 2014 data corresponds to 2014-15.
There was no survey in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
2020 data is presented separately in the supporting files due to a limited sample caused by COVID-19 disruption, limiting comparisons.
Estimates for the use of ‘any childcare’ and ‘informal childcare’ prior to the 2019 wave include ex-husbands/wives/partners as a form of childcare, and this should be borne in mind when making comparisons across survey years
Percentage of families using childcare providers among families with children aged 0 to 14 years, 2010 to 2021
Filename
ceysp21_childcare_use_0_14_ts_families.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2010 to 2021
Content
The proportion of families with children aged 0-14 using any childcare, formal childcare and informal childcare by year.
The Technical Report which accompanies this report provides further methodological information on the survey design, sample, fieldwork, data analysis, interpretation, weighting and definitions used.
The survey uses a broad definition of ‘childcare’: Parents were asked to include any time that the child was not with a resident parent, a resident parent’s current (or ex-) husband, wife, or partner, or at school. In order to remind parents to include all possible people or organisations that may have looked after their children, they were shown a list of childcare providers: nursery schools, nursery classes, reception classes, special day schools, day nurseries, playgroups, childminders, nannies or au-pairs, baby-sitters, breakfast clubs, after-school clubs and holiday clubs, grandparents, older brother/sisters, other relatives, friends or neighbours. Estimates for the use of ‘any childcare’ and ‘informal childcare’ prior to the 2019 wave include ex-husbands/wives/partners as a form of childcare, and this should be borne in mind when making comparisons across survey years.
Detailed information about childcare was collected for one ‘reference child’ in each household- Because of the constraint of interview length, detailed information on the use and needs of all children in the family could not be collected (unless the child was an only child). Rather, in families where there were two or more children, we obtained a broad picture about the childcare arrangements of all children, before asking more detailed questions about one randomly selected child.
Detailed information was collected for childcare use during term-time periods: As childcare arrangements may vary between school term-time and school holidays, most of the questions focused on a reference term-time week (which was the most recent term-time week). A separate set of questions was asked about the use of childcare during the school holidays.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
Childcare_type
Childcare type
Proportion
Percentage of children aged 0-14 using childcare providers in the most recent term time week, 2010 to 2021
Footnotes
x is used when the data is unavailable. This is used when the data was not collected in that year.
Caution should be taken when comparing 2021 figures with previous years due to the potential impact of COVID disruptions on the 2021 data
2010 data corresponds to 2010-11, 2011 data corresponds to 2011-12, 2012 data corresponds to 2012-13, 2014 data corresponds to 2014-15. There was no survey in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
2019 survey was with families with children aged 0-4 and so the data are not directly comparable.
2020 data is presented separately in the supporting files due to a limited sample caused by COVID-19 disruption, limiting comparisons.
Estimates for the use of ‘any childcare’ and ‘informal childcare’ prior to the 2019 wave include ex-husbands/wives/partners as a form of childcare, and this should be borne in mind when making comparisons across survey years
z refers to an observation that is not applicable. This is used for 2019 data as this was completed by parents of 0-4s only.