Methodology

Early years education recovery

• Published: 27 September 2024
• Last updated: 20 September 2024
  See all notes (1)

  1. 20 September 2024

     Updated to describe completion / supported for each strand and the inclusion of local authority breakdowns for the July 2024 data.

Background

The early years education recovery (EYER) programme is a package of workforce training, qualifications and support for the early years sector to help address the impact of the pandemic on the youngest and most disadvantaged children. The programme includes a range of activity strands that provide targeted support to practitioners, leaders and settings.

More detailed information on each strand can be found here: Early years education recovery programme (opens in a new tab). 

Management information is collected for each strand of the programme.  The Department for Education (DfE) uses the data published in this release to monitor delivery of each strand and to understand the overall reach of the programme. 

Data Collection

Data was collected by DfE from each EYER programme delivery partner, with the exception of early years child development training, which is collected by DfE directly. The number of schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) was also collected directly by DfE in 2020/21.

Early years child development training

January 2024

The early years child development training is a free, online training service. The training can be accessed by anyone who registers for an account, so it is possible for multiple practitioners from one setting to register to use the service. 

Users registering with the training service can select their job role and setting type. We include in this publication the number of group/school based and childminder settings and a category titled other that includes local authorities, training providers, and childcare centres. DfE relies on users selecting this accurately in line with the categories provided. The registration data is collected via the service database which is monitored by the digital team within the department. 

When this training programme began in June 2022 it was only available to specific users, invited by DfE. Largely these were mentees from the experts and mentors programme, members of the Early Years Education Recovery expert advisory group as well as local authority colleagues and specific early years stakeholders we asked to test the service. This was a ‘testing’ phase (private beta) that allowed the department to trial the service with a small group of users and make improvements based on their feedback. In November 2022, registration opened to all, meaning every practitioner working with children aged 0-4 in early years settings could access the service (as well as anyone else who wished to access it).

It is possible for practitioners outside of the UK to register for the training, given it is a free and fully accessible service, so it should be noted that a very small number (estimated to be fewer than 20) of the total registrations are international users.

Changes since January 2024

This release includes completion and local authority data, which is also collected via the service database which is monitored by the digital team within the department. 

Users select their local authority, which has only been mandatory since November 2022. Users who registered before 9th February 2023 were required to provide information on their district council. Most of these have been recategorized into local authorities. Where this has not been possible, the local authority is reported as unknown. The local authority is further reported as unknown if a user chooses "I work across more than one Local Authority", falls into the “Central Government/Department for Education/Training provider” setting type or registered before it was mandatory to provide local authority information. As a result, data is incomplete and should not be used for comparison between local authorities. 

We are reporting on 154 local authorities, including Cumbria, which has been replaced by two new councils. As of 22nd February 2024, users can no longer select Cumbria but must choose either Cumberland or Westmorland and Furness local authority.  Users that registered before this date have not been re-categorised across the two new Cumbrian local authorities; instead, they are being prompted to update their local authority. The DfE relies on users selecting this accurately.

The number of practitioners who have registered for and completed the training from outside of the UK is now estimated to be fewer than 120. 

Professional development programme (PDP)

January 2024

The early years professional development programme (PDP) provides early years practitioners with training on communication and language, early mathematics, and personal, social and emotional development. PDP3 builds upon the previous phase of the programme, PDP2, for which we also include the registered numbers in this publication, and is available to all local authorities nationally. PDP3 is targeted at practitioners, and we include here the number registered, which indicates the number of people that have signed up to the programme between the specified dates. The Education Development Trust (EDT) collect this data as DfE’s delivery partner. Practitioners are grouped in cohorts, with cohort one starting in February 2023, cohort two in September 2023, cohort three in January 2024 and cohort four in April 2024. The data published here includes registered figures for the first three cohorts, for which data was collected between November 2022 and December 2023. Recruitment for cohort four is in progress. 

Changes since January 2024

This release includes the registered and completed numbers for PDP2 and PDP3, as well as local authority data. 

PDP2 registration closed in December 2021 and practitioners had to complete the programme by July 2022. Between October 2021 and December 2021, 2,000 practitioners were registered to PDP2. However, between registrations opening and the programme closing, some practitioners withdrew from and did not complete the programme. 

For PDP3, registration closed in March 2024. Practitioners were grouped in cohorts, with cohort one starting in February 2023, cohort two in September 2023, cohort three in January 2024 and cohort four in April 2024. Cohorts must complete the programme within 12 months of starting. Between October 2022 and March 2024, 10,000 practitioners were registered to the training.

Completion figures for the first three cohorts are included. Cohort one had to complete by February 2024. Cohort two, however, had until September 2024 and cohort three has until January 2025 to complete.  Practitioners from cohort one, two and three were able to defer their start date to join a later cohort. They then have 12 months to complete the course. As a result, there are practitioners from these cohorts who are yet to complete. The final completion figures won’t be known until the final cohort, cohort four, closes in March 2025.

An ‘Unknown’ category is included because not all data has been categorised; this will be refined for future publications.

Unlike PDP3, PDP2 was open to 51 LAs. 

Level 3 special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) qualification

January 2024

The Level 3 SENCO qualification is aimed at increasing specialist expertise in special educational needs and disability (SEND) by increasing the number of qualified special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) in early years group-based providers and among childminders.

This training programme enables practitioners to gain an accredited Level 3 early years SENCO qualification. The training is delivered by the Best Practice Network (BPN), who recruit on a rolling, monthly basis to help meet high demand for the programme. BPN capture, manage and report on all programme data on behalf of DfE. 

One practitioner per setting in England may apply. Data published here includes registered settings; those that have successfully applied for the programme but may not have started yet, as of December 2023. 

Changes since January 2024

This release includes registration and completion figures by setting and practitioners, as well as by local authority. 

Registrations for this qualification closed in March 2024. The qualification was open to Early Years SENCOs, or those due to take up the role of Early Years SENCO, with an existing full and relevant Level 3 qualification and the support of an appropriate setting. Level 2 qualified childminders with some Level 3 training were also able to access the course for the final cohort. 

One SENCO per setting was eligible for the training, although since December 2023, in extenuating circumstances, more than one SENCO per setting could gain the qualification, for example if the qualified SENCO left the setting. This was decided on a case-by-case basis. 

The first settings gained a qualified SENCO through completion of the training in February 2023. Final completion data won’t be known until November 2024. 

Experts and mentors programme

January 2024

The experts and mentors programme offers early years support by trained experts and mentors, to early years practitioners, leaders and settings. For school and group-based settings, experts provide up to 3 days of whole setting support over the course of one term. In addition, individual practitioners receive up to 6 hours of support from their mentor. Childminder mentors provide up to 4 days of support to a small cluster of up to 4 childminders over one term. 

The experts and mentors programme is targeted at settings rather than practitioners. Data for this strand therefore reflects the number of settings recruited. For the group- and school-based offer, data is collected and submitted to DfE by Pen Green Research Centre, the delivery partner. The data for group/school-based settings includes data collected during the pilot of the programme, April 2022 – July 2022.

In Summer 2023 the offer was expanded to include mentoring support for childminders who cared for at least one child under the age of 5. We refer to childminder settings, however the numbers reflect individual practitioners receiving support. For the childminder offer, Coram Hempsall’s is the delivery partner and data collector.

Changes since January 2024

This release includes unique setting registration numbers and the number of unique settings which received one term of support. Registrations closed in May 2024. 

To improve the consistency of data and meet the needs of programme recipients, we redefined the definition of a registration in April 2024. Consequently, with the exception of childminder data, this latest data is not comparable with data from January 2024.

Generally, settings and childminders received support over the course of one term, however some went on to receive support for additional terms; we refer to these as instances of support. This data is not included. 

The ‘settings supported’ number for the final term is based upon a snapshot taken on 10th July 2024. Support was given until the programme closed in August 2024, therefore final data on settings supported won’t be available until all reporting is completed. 

The programme was available in all local authorities in England; however, a small number of settings overseas (Ministry of Defence schools) were also eligible for support. 

Stronger practice hubs (SPHs)

January 2024

Early years stronger practice hubs provide advice, share good practice and offer evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners. The data published on stronger practice hubs includes the number of settings that were part of a stronger practice hub network, reflecting the focus of this strand of the programme.

Stronger practice hubs data is collected by the delivery partner National Children’s Bureau (NCB) and is collected from all 18 hubs. The data included for stronger practice hubs indicates the number of settings that were part of a hub network in December 2023. NCB did not dictate originally what constitutes membership so there may be variation in interpretation of this term across hubs. It should be noted that other organisations can become members of the network, such as local authorities and voluntary organisations, but we include here only group/school-based settings and childminders.

Changes since January 2024

This release includes the number of settings recruited to professional development programmes delivered in collaboration with EEF and funded by the hubs, a further area of focus for the programme. Additionally included are the number of newsletters sent out, blogs posted, webinars held, and queries received (via email and other means) by hubs. Queries must be responded to within 5 working days.  

The data published is up to June 2024. NCB define a network as a group that is brought together virtually or in person to share practice and learning around a specific area or agenda. In April 2024, NCB redefined what constitutes as network membership to improve data consistency and reduce ambiguity. As a result, the data from the January 2024 publication is not comparable with the latest data iteration. 

While hubs work with settings, there may be instances of individual practitioners and organisations counted within network memberships. Additional data has been included to capture ‘other’ and ‘unknown’ categories for network membership. ‘Other’ refers to other organisations, such as local authorities, voluntary organisations and individuals; ‘unknown’ refers to uncategorised network membership and may include settings with an unknown provider type. This is not included in the headline figures as the purpose of the data is to demonstrate programme reach through the number of settings registered as part of a network. 

In the local authority data, an ‘unknown’ category is included, as in some cases the hub did not provide data on which LA a setting belonged to; this data cannot be used to compare local authorities. While settings should register only with their local hub and be counted as unique settings, there are instances where settings register with a hub from outside their local area and registered with more than one hub; these fall into the ‘unknown’ category. ‘Number of settings with network membership’ may also include a small number of individuals and organisations.

Nuffield Early Learning Intervention (NELI)

January 2024

The Nuffield Early Language Intervention is a programme developed for reception-age children needing additional support with their speech, language and early literacy skills. This intervention is not available to early years group based or childminder settings. A different but related oral language programme, called NELI Preschool, is available to support practitioners working with 3-4 year olds in group-based settings. A trial of NELI Preschool is currently being recruited to in some regions across England with places co-funded by DfE’s stronger practice hubs and Education Endowment Foundation. The data for NELI Preschool is not captured here.   

NELI was rolled out in academic year 2020/21, ahead of the wider early years education recovery programme with funding from the National Tutoring Programme. 

 NELI data is provided by our delivery partner, OxEd & Assessment. We include the number of participating schools, which since academic year 2021/22 is collected by Nuffield Foundation and their delivery partners on behalf of DfE. DfE was responsible for collecting school participation data in 2020/21. Participating schools are defined as those that have registered and signed a Memorandum of Understanding; this allows them to train staff, use LanguageScreen, and receive a NELI pack that contains the scripted intervention and other resources. We include the number of children that have been assessed using LanguageScreen which helps to  identify which children within a reception class would most benefit from the intervention. Use of this tool is encouraged and failure to carry out the assessment with children does not preclude access to NELI training or materials. 

We also include our delivery partner’s estimate of the number of children who have received the intervention. The annual estimate is based on independently collected data and analysis by RAND that is included in the Nuffield Early Language Evaluation Report (opens in a new tab). The number of children estimated to have benefited from the intervention in this report has been extrapolated across delivery years using the number of registered schools. This assumes the intervention rate at registered schools has remained consistent. The independent EEF report estimated that a total of 94,000 children were supported by NELI in the first two years of delivery, with 35,304 children from 6,668 schools receiving the intervention in 2020/21 and an estimated 58,696 children across 11,086 schools receiving the intervention in 2021/22. On the basis that 11,112 schools were supported in academic year 2022/23, our delivery partner has extrapolated from the EEF data that an additional 58,833 children will have received the intervention in that year (total children 2021/22 x number of schools 2022/23 ÷ number of schools 2021/22).  

Changes since January 2024

This release includes data on the number of practitioners who have registered and completed the NELI courses, as well as local authority data. 

Only practitioners from schools who are registered for the NELI programme can access the training. There are 3 core courses, which must be completed in numerical order. Course 1 provides training on oral language fundamentals and is therefore open to all practitioners at NELI schools. Courses 2 and 3 are designed for those implementing the NELI programme. Following completion of course 2 and/or 3, practitioners can register with the Support Hub, which provides teachers and TAs with continuous guidance from mentors. A final fourth course has been available since January 2024. It is a refresher course, which is not mandatory but recommended for practitioners who completed their initial training in previous academic years.  

The different but related oral language programme, NELI Preschool, is currently being made available to support practitioners working with 3-4 year olds in group-based settings. The data for NELI Preschool is not captured here. 

Nuffield Early Language Intervention Scale-up (2020/21 and… | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk) (opens in a new tab)

Data Quality

Data for all strands relies on the accurate input of individuals and/or delivery partners. 

A practitioner/setting can enrol on more than one strand of the programme; as a result, it is not possible to calculate the total number of practitioners/settings reached by the programme using this data.

The estimated number of children included in the NELI data table is rounded to the nearest whole number. When calculating the cumulative total unrounded values have been used. 

The figures are final and are the most up to date possible, in accordance with the time frames set out below.

Time Frame

Programme strand	Delivery began	January data correct up to	July data correct up to
Early years child development training (EYCDT)	June 2022	December 2023	June 2024
Professional development programme phase 3 (PDP3)	November 2022	December 2023	June 2024
Professional development programme phase 3 (PDP2)	September 2021	June 2022	July 2022
Level 3 special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) qualification	October 2022	December 2023	June 2024
Experts and mentors programme (E&M)	April 2022	January 2024	10th July 2024
Stronger practice hubs (SPHs)	November 2022	December 2023	June 2024
Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI)	September 2020	July 2024	June 2024

Setting and school numbers

Alongside some of the local authority breakdowns, the number of settings and / or schools eligible for that strand has been given alongside the data. This is intended to give an indication of the size of the local authority. Different setting types require a different number of practitioners. Childminder settings may consist of a sole practitioner, whereas some group and school-based settings will employ many practitioners. DfE does not hold administrative data on the number of practitioners working in early years for all setting types. 

The number of childminder and group-based settings is taken from ‘Childcare providers and inspections at 31 March 2024 (opens in a new tab)’ published of Ofsted. 

The number of state school settings is taken form ‘School level underlying data – 2023/24’ published on Explore Education Statistics.

‘Schools’ are identified as state-funded primary, state-funded secondary, state-funded special school, state- funded secondary, state-funded AP school and non-maintained special schools that have at least one child in reception year.

‘school-based settings’ are identified as state-funded primary, state-funded secondary, state-funded special school, state- funded secondary, state-funded AP school and non-maintained special schools that have at least one child in a nursery class (specifically in years E1, E2, N1 and N2).

The number of independent schools is found by matching data from the ‘School level underlying data- 2023/24’ with data from ‘Establishment fields’ found on Get Information About Schools (GIAS). Downloads - GOV.UK (get-information-schools.service.gov.uk) (opens in a new tab) An independent school is included where a school was identified in the school level underlying data as independent and was identified as having nursery classes and a statutory low age of less than four in on GIAS. 

Early years child development training:

Location data was not initially collected as such there are many practitioners with unknown local authority. Therefore, the data cannot be used to compare local authorities, and the number of settings has not been included at this level. Practitioners from childminder settings, group-based settings, state-funded school-based settings, independent school-based settings and British Forces Overseas establishments were targeted to take part in early years child development training. There are 57,199 settings of this type. Not all registered users are setting based. Therefore this figure should be used with caution. 

Professional development training: 

Practitioners from childminder settings, group-based settings, state-funded school-based settings and independent school-based settings were eligible to take part in professional development training. All setting types are included in the total. There are 57,188 settings of this type.

Level 3 special educational needs co-ordinator qualification:

Childminder settings and group-based settings were eligible to take part in this strand of the EYER programme. Only these setting types are included in the total. There are 47,639 settings of this type.

Experts and mentors:

Practitioners from childminder settings, group-based settings, state-funded school-based settings, independent school-based settings and British Forces Overseas establishments were eligible to take part in experts and mentors. All setting types are included in the total. There are 57,199 settings of this type.

Stronger practice hubs:

Local authorities were not recorded for settings with network membership outside of their home area, therefore there are many settings with unknown local authority. As such, the data cannot be used to compare local authorities, and the number of settings has not been included at local authority level. Childminder settings, group-based settings, state-funded school-based settings and independent school based-settings were targeted by SPH. There are 57,188 settings of this type. Not all network members are setting based. Therefore this figure should be used with caution. 

Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI):

Only state-funded schools with reception age children are eligible for this strand of the EYER programme. There are 16,461 schools eligible. 11,112 schools have registered for the programme since September 2020.

Help and support

Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Early years education recovery statistics and data:

Early Years Outcomes and Interventions Research

Email: EYERProject.MAILBOX@EDUCATION.GOV.UK
Contact name: Kay Penny

Press office

If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

Public enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Telephone: 037 0000 2288

Opening times:
Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)