Reporting year 2022

Education provision: children under 5 years of age

Data guidance

Published 30 June 2022

Description

This document describes the data included in the ‘Education provision: children under 5 years of age in England, January 2022’ National Statistics release’s underlying data files. 

This data is released under the terms of the Open Government Licence and is intended to meet at least 3 stars for Open Data. 

The methodology document should be referenced alongside this data. It provides information on the data sources, their coverage and quality as well as explaining methodology used in producing the data.

Coverage

This release provides the latest information on government-funded early years provision for children aged 2-4 in state-funded schools (including nurseries), and private, voluntary, and independent providers (including childminders) in England.

The information is based on data collected via the early years census, school census, and school level annual school census. 

The underlying data files include national, regional, and local authority level information for the position during census week in January for years 2018 to 2022.

File formats and conventions

The following symbols are used in the underlying data files as follows: 

     c     to protect confidentiality - secondary suppression may also be applied to figures to protect confidentiality

     z      data not applicable 

     x      data not available 

     ~      used when a result that is not 0 (zero) would appear as 0 (zero) due to rounding

Where any number is shown as zero, the original figure submitted was zero.  

Data files

All data files associated with this release are listed below with guidance on their content. To download any of these files, please visit our data catalogue.

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.

1A Number of children registered by provider type and year group

• Filename: 1a_early_years_provision_children_registered_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  Number of children registered to receive government-funded early years provision by provider type and year group.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
entitlement_type	Type of entitlement
number_of_2_year_olds	Number of registered 2-year-olds
number_of_3_4_year_olds	Number of registered 3 and 4-year-olds
number_of_3_year_olds	Number of registered 3-year-olds
number_of_4_year_olds	Number of registered 4-year-olds
provider_type	Type of provider
year_group	Year group

Footnotes

1. 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 to the child, or for another reason. These children have been included in the reception category.
2. Some maintained nursery schools have a reception class and/or some children may continue to attend their maintained nursery school in reception year until they are ready for primary school.
3. 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.
4. The data submitted for Calderdale and the data submitted for Leicestershire in 2022 were undercounts due to error. Caution should be taken when comparing these figures with previous years.
5. 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 in the methodology note.
6. The data submitted for Thurrock in 2021 was a significant undercount due to an error, and is therefore suppressed due to inaccuracy. National and regional totals include the original submitted data.
7. The number of 3 and 4-year-olds in reception has been combined due to small numbers of 3-year-olds being recorded in reception year. Where 3-year-olds are recorded as in reception, this may be because they attend a school with a two-year reception class or other mixed-year class, because the local authority has agreed it would be beneficial to start reception year early, or for another reason.
8. Children who split their entitlement across more than one private, voluntary or independent provider are only counted at the provider where they spend the majority of their time.

1B Percentage and number of children registered by provider type

• Filename: 1b_early_years_provision_percentage_registered_2018_2022_corrected.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  The percentage of children registered to receive government-funded early years provision. The numerator is the number of children, the denominator is the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimate of eligible 2-year-olds or the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate of the population of 3-year-olds and/or 4-year-olds.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
2_year_old_population	DWP population estimate for 2-year-olds
3_4_year_old_population	ONS population estimate for 3 and 4-year-olds
3_year_old_population	ONS population estimate for 3-year-olds
4_year_old_population	ONS population estimate for 4-year-olds
number_of_2_year_olds	Number of registered 2-year-olds
number_of_3_4_year_olds	Number of registered 3 and 4-year-olds
number_of_3_year_olds	Number of registered 3-year-olds
number_of_4_year_olds	Number of registered 4-year-olds
percentage_of_2_year_olds	Percentage of eligible 2-year-old children registered
percentage_of_3_4_year_olds	Percentage of 3 and 4-year-old children registered
percentage_of_3_year_olds	Percentage of 3-year-old children registered
percentage_of_4_year_olds	Percentage of 4-year-old children registered
provider_type	Type of provider

Footnotes

1. The 'Maintained nursery and state-funded primary schools' category is a combination of the 'Infant classes in state-funded primary schools', 'Nursery classes in state-funded primary schools' and 'Maintained nursery schools' sub-groups.
2. Where provider type refers to nursery or infant classes, this is the type of class the child was present in on census day, which is distinct from their national curriculum year group.
3. The estimated number of eligible 2-year-olds is derived from data supplied by the Department for Work and Pensions each November. It represents the best data available on the number of children meeting the benefit and tax credit eligibility criteria.
4. The data submitted for Calderdale and the data submitted for Leicestershire in 2022 were undercounts due to error. Caution should be taken when comparing these figures with previous years.
5. 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 in the methodology note.
6. The data submitted for Thurrock in 2021 was a significant undercount due to an error, and is therefore suppressed due to inaccuracy. National and regional totals include the original submitted data.
7. The 2020 estimate of eligible 2-year-olds in Suffolk was approximately 600 lower than the correct figure due to an error. Therefore, the take-up rate amongst eligible 2-year-olds in Suffolk local authority is not comparable for 2020.
8. Children who split their entitlement across more than one private, voluntary or independent provider are only counted at the provider where they spend the majority of their time.

1C National percentage of children registered

• Filename: 1c_early_years_provision_percentage_registered_national_2011_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2011 to 2022
• Content:

  National time series of take-up amongst eligible two-year olds from 2015, and amongst three- and four-year-olds of the universal entitlement from 2011.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
percentage_of_2_year_olds	Percentage of eligible 2-year-old children registered
percentage_of_3_4_year_olds	Percentage of 3 and 4-year-old children registered
percentage_of_3_year_olds	Percentage of 3-year-old children registered
percentage_of_4_year_olds	Percentage of 4-year-old children registered

Footnotes

1. The estimated number of eligible 2-year-olds is derived from data supplied by the Department for Work and Pensions each November. It represents the best data available on the number of children meeting the benefit and tax credit eligibility criteria.
2. 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 in the methodology note.

2 Percentage of children by hours per week

• Filename: 2_early_years_provision_banded_hours_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  The proportion of children in government-funded early years provision by number of funded hours received.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
entitlement_type	Type of entitlement
funded_hours	Funded hours band
percentage_of_2_year_olds	Percentage of registered 2-year-olds
percentage_of_3_year_olds	Percentage of registered 3-year-olds
percentage_of_4_year_olds	Percentage of registered 4-year-olds
provider_type	Type of provider

Footnotes

1. Where a child takes their annual 15-hour entitlement flexibly over more than 38 weeks, the funded hours recorded in census week may underestimate the actual proportion of the entitlement taken annually, e.g. a child funded for 12 hours during census week may in fact be taking up the full 15-hour entitlement over more than 38 weeks.
2. The percentages across all banded hours sum to 100%, although this may not be exact due to rounding.
3. Any child attending more than one provider may have been counted twice.
4. 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 in the methodology note.

3A National number of providers and children by provider type (detailed)

• Filename: 3a_early_years_provision_provider_type_national_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  The number of providers and children by provider type, presented nationally to allow smaller breakdowns in provider type.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
age	Age
entitlement_type	Type of entitlement
number_of_children	Number of registered children
number_of_providers	Number of providers
type_of_provider	Type of provider

Footnotes

1. 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 in the methodology note.
2. Since 2019, a data cleaning exercise with local authorities has improved data quality. Provider types are now more accurately recorded and caution should be taken when comparing across time.
3. Children who split their entitlement across more than one private, voluntary or independent provider are only counted at the provider where they spend the majority of their time.

3B Number of providers by provider type

• Filename: 3b_early_years_provision_provider_type_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  Number of providers of government-funded early years provision by provider type (e.g., childminders).

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
entitlement_type	Type of entitlement
number_providers_2	Number of providers delivering early years provision to 2-year-olds
number_providers_34	Number of providers delivering early years provision to 3 and 4-year-olds
provider_type	Type of provider

Footnotes

1. The 'State-funded primary schools' category is a combination of the 'State-funded primary schools with nursery classes' and 'State-funded primary schools without nursery classes' sub-groups.
2. The 'Maintained nursery and state-funded primary schools' category is a combination of the 'State-funded primary schools' and 'Maintained nursery schools' sub-groups.
3. Where provider type refers to nursery or infant classes, this is the type of class the child was present in on census day, which is distinct from their national curriculum year group.
4. 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 in the methodology note.

4 Number and percentage of children by provider's Ofsted inspection rating

• Filename: 4_early_years_provision_ofsted_ratings_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  The number of children registered to receive some government-funded early years provision by provider's Ofsted inspection judgement.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
entitlement_type	Type of entitlement
number_of_2_year_olds	Number of registered 2-year-olds
number_of_3_4_year_olds	Number of registered 3 and 4-year-olds
ofsted_inspection	Ofsted inspection judgement
percentage_of_2_year_olds	Percentage of 2-year-olds registered
percentage_of_3_4_year_olds	Percentage of 3 and 4-year-olds registered

Footnotes

1. Statutory guidance advises local authorities not to fund provision judged requires improvement or inadequate for eligible two-year-olds unless sufficient, accessible provision judged good or outstanding is not available.
2. Percentages are based upon those providers with a matched and identified Ofsted judgement (i.e., excludes 'No match'). The four available judgements sum to 100% (may not be exact due to rounding).
3. 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 in the methodology note.
4. 'No match' includes independent schools who are not required to register with Ofsted and academy converters who have not yet been inspected under their new status. These are included as a proportion of the 'Total' numbers, based on the total number of children receiving government-funded early years provision at these providers.
5. Children who split their entitlement across more than one private, voluntary or independent provider are only counted at the provider where they spend the majority of their time.

5 Number of children by special educational needs (SEN) provision

• Filename: 5_early_years_provision_sen_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  The number of children in receipt of Education Health and Care Plans, and/or in receipt of SEN support.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
entitlement_type	Type of entitlement
number_of_2_year_olds	Number of registered two-year-olds
number_of_3_4_year_olds	Number of registered three- and four-year-olds
percent_of_2_year_olds	Percent of two-year-olds registered
percent_of_3_4_year_olds	Percent of three- and four-year-olds registered
sen_provision	Special educational needs (SEN) provision

Footnotes

1. 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 in the methodology note.

6A National number and percentage of children by early years pupil premium funding basis

• Filename: 6a_early_years_provision_children_pupil_premium_basis_national_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  The number of children in receipt of early years pupil premium nationally, by basis for funding.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
age	Age
early_years_pupil_premium	Basis for funding
number_of_children_pp	Number of registered children in receipt of early years pupil premium
percentage_of_children_pp	Percentage of registered children in receipt of early years pupil premium

Footnotes

1. The majority of 4-year-olds are in reception year. These children receive the school-age pupil premium rather than the early years pupil premium.
2. 'Other' includes children eligible due to being in care or due to leaving care through adoption, a special guardianship order or a child arrangement order.
3. 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 in the methodology note.

6B Number of children by early years pupil premium status

• Filename: 6b_early_years_provision_children_pupil_premium_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  The number of children in receipt of early years pupil premium.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
number_of_3_4_year_olds_pp	Number of registered 3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium
number_of_3_year_olds_pp	Number of registered 3-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium
number_of_4_year_olds_pp	Number of registered 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium

Footnotes

1. The majority of 4-year-olds are in reception year. These children receive the school-age pupil premium rather than the early years pupil premium.
2. The data submitted for Calderdale and the data submitted for Leicestershire in 2022 were undercounts due to error. Caution should be taken when comparing these figures with previous years.
3. 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 in the methodology note.

7A National number and percentage of staff by provider type and highest staff qualification

• Filename: 7a_early_years_provision_staff_highest_qualification_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  The number and percentage of early years staff at private, voluntary, and independent providers, by highest qualification and category of provider.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
highest_qualification	Highest level of qualification
number_of_staff	Number of staff
percentage_of_staff	Percentage of staff
provider_type	Type of provider

Footnotes

1. These percentages are the proportion of all staff at that provider type who have a specific qualification, not the proportion of all staff with a specific qualification. Therefore, provider types will not sum to 100%.
2. 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 in the methodology note.
3. 'Total staff' includes both qualified and unqualified staff.
4. Since 2019, a data cleaning exercise with local authorities has improved data quality. Provider types are now more accurately recorded and caution should be taken when comparing across time.

7B Number and percentage of providers and children by provider type and staff graduate status

• Filename: 7b_early_years_provision_staff_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  Number and percentage of private, voluntary, and independent providers and the number of children benefiting from government-funded early years provision at private, voluntary, and independent providers with staff with graduate status by provider type.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
entitlement_type	Type of entitlement
number_of_children	Number of registered children
number_of_children_at_provider_with_graduate	Number of registered children at providers having staff with a graduate status
number_of_providers	Number of providers
number_of_providers_with_graduate	Number of providers having staff with a graduate status
percentage_of_children_at_provider_with_graduate	Percentage of children registered at providers having staff with a graduate status
percentage_of_providers_with_graduate	Percentage of providers having staff with a graduate status
provider_type	Type of provider

Footnotes

1. 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 in the methodology note.
2. Since 2019, a data cleaning exercise with local authorities has improved data quality. Provider types are now more accurately recorded and caution should be taken when comparing across time.
3. Children who split their entitlement across more than one private, voluntary or independent provider are only counted at the provider where they spend the majority of their time.

8 Number of two-year-olds by basis for funding

• Filename: 8_early_years_provision_basis_for_funding_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  The number of 2-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision, by basis for funding. Children may be eligible for more than one reason.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
basis_for_funding	Basis for funding
number_of_2_year_olds	Number of 2-year-olds registered

Footnotes

1. A 2-year-old can be counted under more than one basis for funding if more than one applies.
2. 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 in the methodology note.

9 Number of children by ethnicity

• Filename: 9_early_years_provision_ethnicity_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  Number of children in receipt of government-funded early years provision by ethnicity, as reported on the early years census or school census.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
entitlement_type	Type of entitlement
ethnicity	Ethnicity
number_of_2_year_olds	Number of registered 2-year-olds
number_of_3_4_year_olds	Number of registered 3 and 4-year-olds

Footnotes

1. Previously, Chinese children were included in the 'Other' category. Based on new guidance, we have revised the timeseries so Chinese children are now included in the 'Asian' category.
2. 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 in the methodology note.
3. The 'Unclassified' category describes cases where the child's ethnicity was refused or not obtained. These children are included in the 'Total' numbers.

Additional - Number of children registered by local authority district

• Filename: 10_early_years_provision_lad_2020_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority district; National; Regional
• Time period: 2020 to 2022
• Content:

  The number of children registered to receive government-funded early years provision by local authority district. An additional table produced for analysis at Opportunity Area level.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
no_3_4_reg_ext_dnm	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive extended government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of did not match
no_3_4_reg_ext_good	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive extended government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of good
no_3_4_reg_ext_inadequate	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive extended government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of inadequate
no_3_4_reg_ext_outstanding	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive extended government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of outstanding
no_3_4_reg_extrequires_improvement	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive extended government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of requires improvement
no_3_4_reg_uni_dnm	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of did not match
no_3_4_reg_uni_good	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of good
no_3_4_reg_uni_inadequate	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of inadequate
no_3_4_reg_uni_outstanding	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of outstanding
no_3_4_reg_unirequires_improvement	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of requires improvement
no2_reg	Number of 2-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision
no2_reg_dnm	Number of 2-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of did not match
no2_reg_eco	Number of 2-year-olds who met the economic basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision
no2_reg_eco_dnm	Number of 2-year-olds who met the economic basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of did not match
no2_reg_eco_good	Number of 2-year-olds who met the economic basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of good
no2_reg_eco_inadequate	Number of 2-year-olds who met the economic basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of inadequate
no2_reg_eco_outstanding	Number of 2-year-olds who met the economic basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of outstanding
no2_reg_ecorequires_improvement	Number of 2-year-olds who met the economic basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of requires improvement
no2_reg_good	Number of 2-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of good
no2_reg_hsd	Number of 2-year-olds who met the high-level SEN or disability basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision
no2_reg_hsd_dnm	Number of 2-year-olds who met the high-level SEN or disability basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of did not match
no2_reg_hsd_good	Number of 2-year-olds who met the high-level SEN or disability basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of good
no2_reg_hsd_inadequate	Number of 2-year-olds who met the high-level SEN or disability basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of inadequate
no2_reg_hsd_outstanding	Number of 2-year-olds who met the high-level SEN or disability basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of outstanding
no2_reg_hsdrequires_improvement	Number of 2-year-olds who met the high-level SEN or disability basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of requires improvement
no2_reg_inadequate	Number of 2-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of inadequate
no2_reg_laa	Number of 2-year-olds who met the looked after or adopted from care basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision
no2_reg_laa_dnm	Number of 2-year-olds who met the looked after or adopted from care basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of did not match
no2_reg_laa_good	Number of 2-year-olds who met the looked after or adopted from care basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of good
no2_reg_laa_inadequate	Number of 2-year-olds who met the looked after or adopted from care basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of inadequate
no2_reg_laa_outstanding	Number of 2-year-olds who met the looked after or adopted from care basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of outstanding
no2_reg_laarequires_improvement	Number of 2-year-olds who met the looked after or adopted from care basis for funding criteria registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of requires improvement
no2_reg_outstanding	Number of 2-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of outstanding
no2_regrequires_improvement	Number of 2-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted inspection judgement of requires improvement
no3_4_reg_ext	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive extended government-funded early years provision
no3_4_reg_uni	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds registered to receive government-funded early years provision
no3_4_reg_uni_eypp	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP) registered to receive government-funded early years provision
no3_4_reg_uni_eypp_both	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP) for both reasons registered to receive government-funded early years provision
no3_4_reg_uni_eypp_dnm	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP) registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted judgement of did not match
no3_4_reg_uni_eypp_eco	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP) for economic reasons registered to receive government-funded early years provision
no3_4_reg_uni_eypp_good	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP) registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted judgement of good
no3_4_reg_uni_eypp_inadequate	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP) registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted judgement of inadequate
no3_4_reg_uni_eypp_oth	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP) due to being in care or due to leaving care through adoption, a special guardianship order or a child arrangement order registered to receive government-funded early years provision
no3_4_reg_uni_eypp_outstanding	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP) registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted judgement of outstanding
no3_4_reg_uni_eypp_unk	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP) for unknown reasons registered to receive government-funded early years provision
no3_4_reg_uni_eypprequires_improvement	Number of 3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP) registered to receive government-funded early years provision at a provider with an Ofsted judgement of requires improvement

Footnotes

1. Statutory guidance advises local authorities not to fund provision judged requires improvement or inadequate for eligible two-year-olds unless sufficient, accessible provision judged good or outstanding is not available.
2. A 2-year-old can be counted under more than one basis for funding if more than one applies.
3. 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 in the methodology note.
4. 'No match' includes independent schools who are not required to register with Ofsted and academy converters who have not yet been inspected under their new status. These are included as a proportion of the 'Total' numbers, based on the total number of children receiving government-funded early years provision at these providers.
5. Children who split their entitlement across more than one private, voluntary or independent provider are only counted at the provider where they spend the majority of their time.

Commentary - Figure 2: Number of children registered for early years provision by age and provider type, 2022

• Filename: early_years_provision_figure2_provider_type_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2022
• Content:

  Underlying data for Figure 2 in the commentary. The number of children registered to receive government-funded early years provision by age, entitlement, and provider type.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
age_entitlement	Age and type of entitlement
number_of_children	Number of registered children
provider_type	Type of provider

Footnotes

1. 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 to the child, or for another reason. These children have been included in the reception category.
2. This chart does not include the small number of children attending a state-funded school who do not follow the national curriculum.
3. 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 in the methodology note.
4. The number of 3 and 4-year-olds in reception has been combined due to small numbers of 3-year-olds being recorded in reception year. Where 3-year-olds are recorded as in reception, this may be because they attend a school with a two-year reception class or other mixed-year class, because the local authority has agreed it would be beneficial to start reception year early, or for another reason.
5. Children who split their entitlement across more than one private, voluntary or independent provider are only counted at the provider where they spend the majority of their time.

Commentary - Table 1: Number and percentage of children registered for the 15-hour entitlement, 2018 to 2022

• Filename: early_years_provision_table1_annual_change_2018_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  Underlying data for Table 1 in the commentary. The number and percentage of children registered to receive government-funded early years provision, the eligible population, and annual changes.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
age_entitlement	Age and entitlement type
annual_change	Annual change
measure	Measure
measure_type	Measure type

Footnotes

1. The estimated number of eligible 2-year-olds is derived from data supplied by the Department for Work and Pensions each November. It represents the best data available on the number of children meeting the benefit and tax credit eligibility criteria.
2. 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 in the methodology note.

Commentary - Table 2: Number of providers by entitlement and provider type, 2020 to 2022

• Filename: early_years_provision_table2_providers_2020_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2020 to 2022
• Content:

  Underlying data for Table 2 in the commentary. The number of providers with at least one child receiving government-funded early years provision by child's age and provider type.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
age	Age
entitlement_type	Type of entitlement
number_of_providers	Number of providers
type_of_provider	Type of provider

Footnotes

1. 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 in the methodology note.
2. Children who split their entitlement across more than one private, voluntary or independent provider are only counted at the provider where they spend the majority of their time.

Commentary - Table 3: Percentage of children registered by entitlement type and provider’s Ofsted inspection judgement, 2022

• Filename: early_years_provision_table3_ofsted_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2018 to 2022
• Content:

  Underlying data for Table 3 in the commentary. The percentage of children registered to receive early years provision by entitlement type and provider's Ofsted inspection judgement.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
age	Age
entitlement_type	Type of entitlement
ofsted_inspection	Ofsted inspection judgement
percentage_of_children	Percentage of children registered

Footnotes

1. Statutory guidance advises local authorities not to fund provision judged requires improvement or inadequate for eligible two-year-olds unless sufficient, accessible provision judged good or outstanding is not available.
2. Percentages are based upon those providers with a matched and identified Ofsted judgement (i.e., excludes 'No match'). The four available judgements sum to 100% (may not be exact due to rounding).
3. 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 in the methodology note.

Headline facts and figures, 2022

• Filename: early_years_provision_headline_figures_2022.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2022
• Content:

  Underlying data for the headline facts and figures in the commentary.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
num_2_15	Eligible 2-year-olds registered for 15-hour entitlement
num_34_15	3 and 4-year-olds registered for 15-hour entitlement
num_34_30	3 and 4-year-olds registered for 30-hour entitlement
num_34_eypp	3 and 4-year-olds in receipt of the early years pupil premium
perc_2_15	Estimated percentage of eligible 2-year-olds registered for 15-hour entitlement
perc_34_15	Percentage of 3 and 4-year-olds registered for 15-hour entitlement

Footnotes

1. The majority of 4-year-olds are in reception year. These children receive the school-age pupil premium rather than the early years pupil premium.
2. The estimated number of eligible 2-year-olds is derived from data supplied by the Department for Work and Pensions each November. It represents the best data available on the number of children meeting the benefit and tax credit eligibility criteria.
3. 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 in the methodology note.