October 2024

Expansion to early childcare entitlements: eligibility codes issued and validated

Data guidance

Published 17 October 2024

Description

Management information data on codes applications and validations for the new entitlements expansion from April 2024 to September 2025.

Coverage

All children applying for codes through HMRC that are approved into the DfE Eligibility Checking Service by the cut-off date. 

File formats and conventions

Tidy data, with time periods, geographical breakdowns, age filters, and figures for codes issued, validated, and % validated. 

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.

Summer 2024 termly headcount local authority returns (two-year-olds)

• Filename: 20241015_summer_term_headcount_data.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National
• Time period: 2023/24 Summer term
• Content:
  This data reflects Local Authority returns in mid-June combined with School Census data collected by the department at the same time, at local authority level.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
headcount	Number of two-year-olds using codes in summer
pte_count	Number of PTEs submitted for two-year-olds in summer

Headline national codes issued, validated, and percentage validated by term and age of child

• Filename: 20241015_national_codes_issued_and_validated_by_age.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2023/24 Summer term to 2024/25 Autumn term
• Content:
  Simple data file for the 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 - Autumn term is available for 2yo, 1yo, and 9mth-12mth olds
codes_issued	Codes issued
codes_validated	Codes validated
percentage_validated	Percentage of codes validated

Footnotes

1. All data refers to the first time a code is issued and validated, hence the same child will only appear in their first term using the code.

Summer 2024 Local Authority Time Series

• Filename: summer_time_series.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2024 Week 1 to 2024 Week 41
• Content:
  Time series of codes issued, validated, and % - shows the trend upwards in validation rates over the term.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
codes_issued	Codes issued for two-year-olds (Summer term)
codes_validated	Codes validated for two-year-olds (Summer term)
percentage_validated	Percentage of codes validated (Summer term)

Footnotes

1. Eligibility Checking Service data was aggregated to local authorities using the child's postcode, and the ONS August 2024 postcode directory. This means that codes validated will not align with the total aggregated using the provider postcode, which is relevant to funding. This also means that validation rates can only be between 0% and 100%.
2. Small drops in the validation rate can occur as the number of codes issued can exceed validations by more than the validation rate, but this won't happen for long into the term. This trajectory of validation rates is consistent with other terms and with data on three and four-year-olds.

Autumn 2024 National Time Series

• Filename: national_time_series_autumn.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2024 Week 1 to 2024 Week 28
• Content:
  Time series of codes issued, validated, and % - shows the trend upwards in validation rates over the term. National-only.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
codes_issued	Codes issued (Autumn term)
codes_validated	Codes validated (Autumn term)
percentage_validated	Percentage of codes validated (Autumn term)

Footnotes

1. All data refers to the first time a code is issued and validated, hence the same child will only appear in their first term using the code.
2. Small drops in the validation rate can occur as the number of codes issued can exceed validations by more than the validation rate, but this won't happen for long into the term. This trajectory of validation rates is consistent with other terms and with data on three and four-year-olds.

Autumn 2024 Local Authority Codes Issued and Validated

• Filename: autumn_la_data.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2023 to 2024
• Content:
  Local authority level data on codes validated and issued - used to create the map in the publication.

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

Footnotes

1. All data refers to the first time a code is issued and validated, hence the same child will only appear in their first term using the code.
2. Eligibility Checking Service data was aggregated to local authorities using the child's postcode, and the ONS August 2024 postcode directory. This means that codes validated will not align with the total aggregated using the provider postcode, which is relevant to funding. This also means that validation rates can only be between 0% and 100%.