Reporting year 2023

Education provision: children under 5 years of age

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See all updates (1) for Reporting year 2023
  1. Corrected 2023 data for Dorset local authority in underlying data file '5 Children registered by Ofsted judgement at provider'.

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Introduction

These statistics report on government-funded early education and childcare (early years provision) for children aged 2 to 4 years in England on 18 January 2023. 

Data is collected from local authorities covering state-funded schools (including nurseries), via the spring school census (opens in a new tab) and from private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers (including childminders) via the early years census (opens in a new tab). In addition, general hospital schools data is collected via the school-level annual school census (opens in a new tab).


Headline facts and figures - 2023

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About these statistics

All 3 and 4-year-olds, and eligible disadvantaged 2-year-olds, are entitled to 570 hours of government-funded early years provision a year. This is typically taken as 15 hours a week over 38 weeks of the year (though it is also possible to take fewer hours over more weeks), and is referred to in these statistics as the 15-hour entitlement.

Children aged 3 and 4 with eligible working parents are entitled to an additional 570 hours, taking their total entitlement to 1,140 hours a year. This is typically taken as 30 hours a week over 38 weeks of the year (though it is also possible to take fewer hours over more weeks) and is referred to in these statistics as the 30-hour entitlement.

Children’s age for each reporting year is defined as how old they were on the preceding 31 December. For example, 2-year-olds for the 2023 reporting year were aged 2 on 31 December 2022.

The series started in:

  • 2011 for 3 and 4-year-olds and the 15-hour entitlement 
  • 2015 for 2-year-olds and the 15-hour entitlement (with the full eligibility criteria)
  • 2018 for 3 and 4-year-olds and the 30-hour entitlement.

This corresponds with when figures were first collected or when comparable figures first became available. 

15-hour entitlement for eligible disadvantaged 2-year-olds

2-year-olds are eligible for the 15-hour entitlement if their parents (or the sole parent in a lone parent household) are in receipt of certain income-related benefits or have no recourse to public funds. 2-year-olds are also eligible for non-economic reasons including if they have an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, receive disability living allowance, are looked after by a local authority, or have left care under an adoption, special guardianship, or child arrangements order.

The number of 2-year-olds eligible for the 15-hour entitlement is estimated using the number of households with 2-year-olds that are in receipt of income-related benefits but excludes children eligible for the other reasons listed above. Therefore, the true number of 2-year-olds eligible is under-estimated. In turn, take-up of the 15-hour entitlement for 2-year-olds is over-estimated. However, the size of this over-estimate is expected to be small given that most 2-year-olds registered for the 15-hour entitlement are recorded as meeting the eligibility criteria for economic reasons (97% in 2023).

15-hour entitlement for all 3 and 4-year-olds

The 15-hour entitlement for all 3 and 4-year-olds is commonly referred to as the ‘universal entitlement’ or ‘15 hours free childcare (opens in a new tab)’ and aims to support child development and school readiness. Children (mainly 4-year-olds) in a state-funded reception class are considered to be registered for the 15-hour entitlement. 

The take-up rates for the 15-hour entitlement for 3 and 4-year-olds are calculated based on population estimates derived from mid-year estimates and projections produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The population estimates used in this publication do not yet take updated figures based on Census 2021 data into account, as a full and consistent timeseries based on them was not available at the time of publication.

As a consequence, disparities between previously published estimates and new figures based on Census 2021 (opens in a new tab) population data mean that previous population estimates for 3 and 4-year-olds from 2013 onwards are likely overestimates to some extent, and therefore the derived take-up rates are likely underestimates. This was estimated to be in the region of 5 percentage points for 2022 figures, and therefore the 3 and 4-year-old take-up rates need to be treated with caution. The population estimates and take-up rates back to 2013 will be revised in the 2024 release following ONS publication of a full and consistent timeseries based on Census 2021 population data. See methodology for more information.

30-hour entitlement for eligible 3 and 4-year-olds

The 30-hour entitlement is commonly referred to as the ‘extended entitlement’ or ‘30 hours free childcare (opens in a new tab)’ and aims to support working parents. 3 and 4-year-olds are eligible for the 30-hour entitlement if their parents (or the sole parent in a lone parent household) work at least 16 hours a week at national minimum wage or living wage, but earn under £100,000 per year. These children are eligible until they start reception year or the start of the term after they turn 5.

The national take-up of the 30-hour entitlement is estimated using the Family Resources Survey (FRS), Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI), and population estimates derived from ONS estimates and projections. Due to the population data used for 2023 likely being an overestimate (see previous sub-section) and the reliability of the survey-based data, the 30-hour take-up rate should be treated with caution (hence a definitive percentage not being provided). See methodology for more details.

Support for disadvantaged 3 and 4-year-olds

Children aged 3 and 4 registered for the 15-hour entitlement who have not yet entered reception are eligible for early years pupil premium (EYPP) (opens in a new tab) funding if their parents (or the sole parent in a lone parent household) are in receipt of certain income-related benefits, if they are looked after by a local authority, or if they have left care under an adoption, special guardianship, or child arrangements order.

When children join a state-funded reception class, they cease to be eligible for EYPP, so these statistics also identify children who are in reception and eligible for free school meals (opens in a new tab). Children are eligible for free school meals if they are in full-time education in a state-funded school and their parents are in receipt of certain income-related benefits or have no recourse to public funds.

15-hour entitlement

The take-up rate of 3 and 4-year-olds registered for the 15-hour entitlement needs to be treated with caution and likely underestimates the true rate by up to 5 percentage points (see section ‘About these statistics’, sub-section ‘15-hour entitlement for all 3 and 4-year-olds’). 

A complete and consistent time-series of rates based on Census 2021 population data was not available at the time of publication, but an updated back-series will be added to next year’s 2024 publication.

In 2023, the estimated take up rate for eligible 2-year-olds and 3 and 4-year-olds increased to the highest in the series and the highest since 2018 respectively. Conversely, the number of 2-year-olds and 3 and 4-year-olds registered fell to the lowest in each series, down 8% (-11,200) and 1% (-16,200) since 2022 respectively. 

These figures should be considered alongside sizeable declines in the relevant populations. The number of children born fell each year between 2015 and 2020 (opens in a new tab), affecting population estimates for each age group, and this will likely have contributed to falls in the numbers registered between 2018 and 2023.  

For 3 and 4-year-olds, the number of children registered peaked in 2016 and has decreased each year since (except 2022, following recovery from COVID-19).

For 2-year-olds specifically, the estimated eligible population has decreased by 20,300 or 11% since 2022 and by 101,800 or 38% since the earliest comparable figure and series peak in 2015. In comparison, the estimated population of all 2-year-olds has decreased by 4% since 2022 and 16% since 2015. This indicates that declines in birth rates only partially explain the decrease in the number of 2-year-olds eligible and registered for the 15-hour entitlement.

One factor to further explain this is that the fall in parents of 2-year-olds receiving legacy benefits which Universal Credit has replaced (a decrease of 190,000 between 2018 and 2023) hasn't been offset by the rise in those receiving Universal Credit (an increase of 142,000 between 2018 to 2023, following it being added to the eligibility criteria in April 2018). In addition, the maximum income thresholds for the eligibility criteria have remained unchanged in recent years whilst average incomes have increased (see Figure 1 in ONS release ‘Employee earnings in the UK: 2022 (opens in a new tab)’).

As a result, between 2018 and 2023, the estimated number eligible for the entitlement has decreased by a larger proportion than the number registered for it, resulting in a rise in the estimated percentage of eligible 2-year-olds registered.

30-hour entitlement

363,000 children aged 3 and 4 were registered for the 30-hour entitlement in 2023. Based on analyses of data from various surveys, this is estimated to be over 4 in 5 eligible children. For more information, see the data quality section of the methodology page. 

Apart from in 2021 (likely linked to the impact of COVID-19 uncertainty on providers and parents), the number of children registered for the 30-hour entitlement has increased each year since its introduction in September 2017. The latest figure is the highest since the series began in 2018.

The majority of children registered for the 30-hour entitlement are 3-year-olds, as many 4-year-olds are already separately registered in reception classes in primary schools. 

Disadvantage status, SEN provision, and ethnicity

Disadvantaged 3 and 4-year-olds

For the first time in this release, statistics are being published on children in reception eligible for free school meals. For more information see the methodology page.

In 2023, 186,100 disadvantaged 3 and 4-year-olds were registered for the 15-hour entitlement. This was a decrease of 3% since the series peak in 2022 but an increase of 14% since 2020.

Of those 3 and 4-year-olds not in reception, 14% were in receipt of the early years pupil premium (EYPP) (opens in a new tab) in 2023, which is consistent with the 2022 figure, but up from 12% in 2020.

In 2023, 18% of 4-year-olds in reception were eligible for free school meals, down from 19% in 2022 but up from 15% in 2020.

Special educational needs (SEN)

The percentage of children registered for the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements who have SEN has increased across all age groups, with the latest figures being the highest in each series. These findings are consistent with the most recent Special educational needs in England statistics, which show a trend of increases in recent years. 

The number of 3 and 4-year-olds with an education, health and care (EHC) plan rose by almost a third between 2020 (11,600) and 2023 (15,400), and again the latest figure was the highest in the series. 

SEN was twice as common amongst 3 and 4-year-olds registered for the 15-hour entitlement than the 30-hour entitlement (8% compared with 4%). This reflects that children with SEN are less likely to be registered for the 30-hour entitlement than those without SEN. 

Ethnicity

Where ethnicity was known, 17% of 3 and 4-year-olds registered for the 30-hour entitlement were from an ethnic minority (excluding White minorities) background, lower than the 28% of 3 and 4-year-olds registered for the 15-hour entitlement. In comparison, 30% of 2-year-olds registered for the 15-hour entitlement were from an ethnic minority background.

Across all entitlements, the percentage registered for them from an ethnic minority background in 2023 was the highest in each series.

Type and quality of provider

Excluding children (mainly 4-year-olds) attending reception in state-funded schools, across all types of entitlement, most children were registered at private, voluntary, and independent providers (excluding childminders).

Of the 3 and 4-year-olds registered for the 30-hour entitlement, the percentage accessing it in a state-funded school (including nurseries) has increased from 18% at its introduction in 2018 to 24% in 2023.

Of those children registered at a provider with a matched Ofsted inspection judgement (93% for the 15-hour entitlement, 90% for the 30-hour entitlement), over 9 in 10 children attended early years provision judged good or outstanding by Ofsted.

Number of providers

The figures in the ‘Main providers’ section are based on all providers delivering funded entitlements where at least one child was registered for all their entitlement or the majority of their entitlement if it was split across multiple providers. 

The figures in the ‘All PVI providers’ section are based on private, voluntary and independent providers (including childminders) delivering funded entitlements where at least one child was registered for all their entitlement or any proportion of their entitlement if it was split across multiple providers. This data is included for the first time in this release. For more information see the methodology  page.

Therefore, the ‘Main providers’ section excludes providers where no children accessed the majority of their entitlement at that provider, whereas the ‘all PVI providers’ section includes these providers. The difference between these figures is 500 or 2%. 

Main providers

In 2023, the number of providers delivering the 15-hour entitlement to children in nursery fell by 1,000 providers (-2%) compared with 2022 and fell by 2,400 providers (-6%) compared with 2020.

Regarding providers delivering the 30-hour entitlement, in 2023 this fell by 500 providers (-2%) compared with 2022 and 1,600 providers (-4%) compared with 2020.

These decreases were driven by a fall in the number of private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers (including childminders), offset by a smaller rise in the number of state-funded schools. 

All PVI providers

The number of PVI providers delivering the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements has decreased every year between 2020 and 2023, with a total overall fall of 3,000 providers (-9%) and 2,800 providers (-9%) respectively. These falls have mainly been driven by decreases in childminders and private and voluntary providers.

The latest figures for both the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlement are the lowest in the series across all private, voluntary and independent providers, private or voluntary providers, and childminders. 

Early years staff

Staff qualifications data relates to private, voluntary, and independent (PVI) providers only. 

In 2023, there were 250,600 staff delivering funded entitlements in PVI providers, up 1,400 staff (0.6%) on a year earlier but down 5,700 staff (-2.2%) since 2020. However, the latest annual rise masks a large fall of 4,400 staff with a level 3 qualification, which has been offset by a large rise of 6,000 staff without an EY qualification.

The proportion of staff without an early years’ qualification has increased each year from 17% in 2020 to 21% in 2023.

In 2023, 79% of staff or 196,900 had a (full and relevant) Level 2, Level 3, or accredited graduate-level early years qualification (early years professional status, early years teacher status, or qualified teacher status). This figure was highest in local authority day nurseries at 90% and lowest for childminders at 73%.

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Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

Accredited official statistics

These accredited official statistics have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority's Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:

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Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Education provision: children under 5 years of age statistics and data:

Early Years Statistics Team

Email: earlyyears.statistics@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Louis Erritt

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