March 2026

Expansion to early childcare entitlements: eligibility codes issued and validated

Data guidance

Published 23 March 2026

This document contains the guidance for the underlying data included in the management information report: “Expansion to early childcare entitlements: eligibility codes issued and validated”.

This technical document published with the release should be referenced alongside this data. It provides information on the data sources, their coverage and quality as well as the methodology used in producing the data.

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.

Headline stats spring release

• Filename: Spring_2026_headline_stats_release.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2025/26 Autumn term to 2025/26 Spring term
• Content:
  Headline statistics.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
age_of_child	Age of child at start of term
codes_issued	Codes issued
codes_validated	Codes validated
percentage_validated	Percentage of codes validated

Autumn 2025 codes issued and validated

• Filename: Autumn_2025_local_authority_codes_issued_and_validated.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2025
• Content:
  Codes issued and validated by local authority for Autumn 2025 term.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
age	Age
codes_issued	Codes issued
codes_validated	Codes validated
percentage_validated	Percentage of codes validated
user_type	User Type

Footnotes

1. Eligibility Checking Service data was aggregated to local authorities using the child's postcode, and the ONS February 2026 postcode directory. Sometimes, a geography cannot be assigned, and the aggregate of LAs may not equal the full national total. This also means that validation rates can only be between 0% and 100%, as the same postcode is used for both (unlike in other statistics relating to entitlements).
2. “Existing” users are defined as those who held an eligible code in the term immediately preceding the term shown. By contrast, “new” users are those whose codes have only just become eligible, whether because the child has reached the qualifying age or because the application was submitted during the current term.
3. Figures for Sheffield and Barnsley not show on map due to boundary and code changes in those areas.

Spring 2026 codes issued and validated

• Filename: Spring_2026_local_authority_codes_issued_and_validated.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2026
• Content:
  Codes issued and validated by local authority for Spring 2026 term.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
age	Age
codes_issued	Codes issued
codes_validated	Codes validated
percentage_validated	Percentage of codes validated
user_type	User Type

Footnotes

1. Eligibility Checking Service data was aggregated to local authorities using the child's postcode, and the ONS February 2026 postcode directory. Sometimes, a geography cannot be assigned, and the aggregate of LAs may not equal the full national total. This also means that validation rates can only be between 0% and 100%, as the same postcode is used for both (unlike in other statistics relating to entitlements).
2. “Existing” users are defined as those who held an eligible code in the term immediately preceding the term shown. By contrast, “new” users are those whose codes have only just become eligible, whether because the child has reached the qualifying age or because the application was submitted during the current term.
3. Figures for Sheffield and Barnsley not show on map due to boundary and code changes in those areas.

Spring 2026 Number of Parents

• Filename: Spring_2026_number_of_parents_summary.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2026
• Content:
  Number of parents associated with Codes issued and validated for the Spring 2026 term.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
Parents_WIth_Code_Issued	Parents wiIth a code issued for 9 months to two-year-olds (Spring term)
Parents_With_Code_Validated	Parents with a code validated for 9 months to two-year-olds (Spring term)
percentage_validated	Percentage of parents with a validated code

Footnotes

1. Data based on the address of the eldest child.

Spring 2026 codes issued and validated by IDACI

• Filename: Spring_2026_codes_by_IDACI.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2026
• Content:
  Codes issued and validated by deprivation, as represented by Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) for Spring 2026 term.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
codes_issued	Codes issued for 9 months to two-year-olds (Spring term)
codes_validated	Codes validated for 9 months to two-year-olds (Spring term)
IDACI_Decile	IDACI Decile
percentage_validated	Percentage of codes validated (Spring term)
user_type	User Type

Footnotes

1. Eligibility Checking Service data was aggregated to local authorities using the child's postcode, and the ONS February 2026 postcode directory. Sometimes, a geography cannot be assigned, and the aggregate of LAs may not equal the full national total. This also means that validation rates can only be between 0% and 100%, as the same postcode is used for both (unlike in other statistics relating to entitlements).
2. “Existing” users are defined as those who held an eligible code in the term immediately preceding the term shown. By contrast, “new” users are those whose codes have only just become eligible, whether because the child has reached the qualifying age or because the application was submitted during the current term.

Autumn 2025 codes issued and validated by IDACI

• Filename: Autumn_2025_codes_by_IDACI.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2025
• Content:
  Codes issued and validated by deprivation, as represented by Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) for Autumn 2025 term.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
codes_issued	Codes issued for 9 months to two-year-olds (Autumn term)
codes_validated	Codes validated for 9 months to two-year-olds (Autumn term)
IDACI_Decile	IDACI Decile
percentage_validated	Percentage of codes validated (Autumn term)
user_type	User Type

Footnotes

1. Eligibility Checking Service data was aggregated to local authorities using the child's postcode, and the ONS February 2026 postcode directory. Sometimes, a geography cannot be assigned, and the aggregate of LAs may not equal the full national total. This also means that validation rates can only be between 0% and 100%, as the same postcode is used for both (unlike in other statistics relating to entitlements).
2. “Existing” users are defined as those who held an eligible code in the term immediately preceding the term shown. By contrast, “new” users are those whose codes have only just become eligible, whether because the child has reached the qualifying age or because the application was submitted during the current term.

Autumn 2025 Number of Parents

• Filename: Autumn_2025_number_of_parents_summary.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2025
• Content:
  Number of parents associated with Codes issued and validated for the Autumn 2025 term

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
Parents_WIth_Code_Issued	Parents wiIth a code issued for 9 months to two-year-olds (Autumn term)
Parents_With_Code_Validated	Parents with a code validated for 9 months to two-year-olds (Autumn term)
percentage_validated	Percentage of parents with a validated code

Footnotes

1. Data based on the address of the eldest child.