What open-access statistics does the Department for Education publish on early education and care?

The Department for Education publishes multiple series of open-access national statistics on early education and care. Most are released on an annual cycle, so the next set are expected a year after the last publication.

The Department for Education’s webpages for each data series report on selected topline findings. They include breakdowns for different groups of children and families and different geographical areas. There are also year-on-year comparisons and time series. Some underlying data can also be downloaded and/or explored online for further analysis.  

Childcare and early years survey of parents 

Nearly 6,000 interviews were conducted in the most recent reporting year, with the aim of collecting ‘information to help monitor the progress of policies and public attitudes in childcare and early years education.’  

Example findings from the latest data include the statistic that 72% of parents of 0-4s perceive the quality of childcare in their local area as ‘very good’ or ‘fairly good,’ and that family income-level is associated with use of formal childcare for this age group. Among families with an annual gross income of £65,000 or more, 80% of 0-4s receive formal childcare, compared to 49% of families with an annual gross income of under £20,000.  

Funded early education and childcare 

This data series reports on national administrative data for children receiving funded early education and childcare. It makes comparisons with population estimates to calculate the proportion of entitled children accessing funding.   

Note that children attending early years provision which is paid privately by their families, rather than through funded entitlements, are not included here: so the picture regarding all attendance among all 0-4s is partial. Correspondingly the series has been renamed from its previous incarnation as ‘Provision for children under 5 in England.’ 

Example findings from the latest data include estimates that 93% of 3-4-year-olds are registered for their funded provision, compared to 73% of 9 month-2 year-olds.  

Early years foundation stage profile results 

In the summer term of the academic year in which a child turns 5, teachers make assessments of development and skills against the 17 ‘early learning goals’ of the foundation stage profile. These annual statistics report national averages, and breakdowns by child and area characteristics. 

Example findings from the latest release include 68% of children being judged to have reached a ‘good level of development’ (across a subset of the ‘early learning goals’). This rises to 76% among autumn-born children compared to 61% of summer-born children; 75% among girls, and 62% among boys. 

Childcare and early years provider survey 

Over 9,000 interviews were conducted in the most recent reporting year, with providers across the school nurseries, local authority nursery schools, and private, voluntary, and childminding providers.  

Example findings from the latest release include an estimated staff turnover rate of 16% in private group-based providers, compared to 7% in school nurseries, and that an estimated 41% of staff in school-based nurseries have a degree-level qualification compared to 11% of staff in private providers.   

Early years entitlements expansion: MI data 

This publication explains that, ‘to access a government-funded childcare entitlement place, parents and carers must apply for an eligibility code. The code is then validated by early years providers or local authorities when a place has been secured at an early years setting.’ 

The ‘publication provides the number of eligibility codes issued to parents and the number of codes validated to date,’ arguably serving as a proxy for the extent to which families who would like to access their funded entitlements, and apply for a code, are then able to secure provision. 

Example findings from the latest release include 94% of issued codes being validated by a provider. This falls to 87% in some local authorities and reaches 97% in others. In areas with the highest number of children aged 0-15 living in income‑deprived households, it falls to 91%: rising to 96% in areas with the fewest children living in income deprivation.  

Suggested citation

Education Policy Institute (2026). What open-access statistics does the Department for Education publish on early education and care, and what kind of thing can they tell us? [URL] (accessed Day Month Year).