Nursery World - Early years attendance levels continue to be lower than pre-Covid

The latest Department for Education (DfE) statistics show that the number of children attending early years settings continues to be lower than it was before the pandemic.

Around 697,000 children were attending childcare on 16 September, which continues to be lower than the usual attendance rate

The DfE estimates that on 16 September, 697,000 children were attending childcare - about 54 per cent of the number that usually attend settings during term time.

However, due to many children attending EY settings on a part-time basis, the DfE said it would not expect all children to be in attendance on the day of the data collection.

On a typical day in the autumn term the department said it expects attendance to be 912,000, due to different and part-time patterns of childcare during the week. It estimates that the 697,000 children currently attending early years settings is approximately 76 per cent of the usual daily level.

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