The National Audit Office (NAO) has today launched an
interactive data
visualisation which can be used to find 2019 data on the
take-up of free early education and childcare entitlements
(funded by the Department for Education), and the provision of
free early education and childcare in England.
It shows:
· How many disadvantaged
2-year-olds in each local area used the Department of Education’s
entitlement to 15 hours of free early years provision a week,
aimed at closing the attainment gap.
· How many 3 - and 4-year olds in
each local area used the Department for Education’s universal
entitlement to 15 hours of free early years provision a
week.
· How many 3 - and 4-year olds in
each local area used the Department for Education’s extended
entitlement to an additional 15 hours of free early years
provision a week, aimed at helping eligible parents return to
work.
· The number of early years
providers in each local area, of each type, that delivered the
entitlements to free early years provision.
This interactive data visualisation supports the NAO’s
report on Supporting disadvantaged
families through free early education and childcare entitlements
in England which was published in March
2020. The report found that:
· As of January 2019, nearly
150,000 2-year-olds and 1.3 million 3- and 4-year-olds were
taking up the entitlements.
· Nationally 68% of eligible
2-year-olds took up the disadvantage entitlement for early years
provision in 2019.
· The proportion of eligible
2-year-olds who took up the disadvantage entitlement in 2019
ranged from 39% to 97% in different local authority areas.
-
For 3- and 4-year-olds, take-up of the universal
entitlement has been consistently high, with 93% of the
population taking up the entitlement in 2019.
-
Nearly 330,000 3- and 4-year-olds took up the extended
entitlement in 2019, and the take-up rate was estimated to be
80%.
-
As of January 2019, 53,810 childcare providers in the
public, private and voluntary sectors were receiving
entitlement funding.
