The latest Department for Education (DfE) statistics on education provision for children under the age of five show that the number of children eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) is up by 8 per cent since last year, and 15 per cent since 2020.
Children aged three and four registered for the 15-hour entitlement are eligible for the EYPP if their parents are in receipt of certain income-related benefits, if they are looked after by a local authority, or if they have left care under an adoption, special guardianship, or child arrangements order.
The Early Years Alliance said it was ‘not surprising that the number of children in receipt of the EYPP has increased so sharply given the impact the pandemic has had on families’ incomes.’
Chief executive Neil Leitch went on to urge the Government to increase the funding settings receive for children eligible for the EYPP to ‘at least’ the same level of primary schools, as well as commit to ‘wider sector investment’ so providers can support children with high-quality care.
Funded places
The same DfE statistics show that an estimated 72 per cent of eligible two-year-olds (135,400) are currently registered for the 15-hours – the highest number recorded since 2018.
Looking at three- and four-year-olds, the data reveals that while the number registered for the universal 15 hours has remained stable since last year, the number of providers offering places has fallen.
As of this year, 1.2 million children were registered for the 15 hours. However, there are 1,213 fewer providers delivering the places now than there were in 2021. This year 47,121 providers were offering 15-hour places, down from 48,334 12 months prior.
A breakdown of the data shows the reduction in providers is largely due to a drop in the number of childminders providing places.
In contrast, the number of state schools delivering the 15-hour entitlement increased slightly between 2021 and 2022.
The statistics also show that the number of children registered for the 30 hours has increased by 6 per cent since 2021 to 348,100 – the highest on record. The number of PVI providers delivering places has also risen. As of 2021, 18,399 PVI settings were delivering 30-hour places, rising to 18,563 this year.
Despite this, the number of providers delivering the places on a whole has slightly dropped in the last 12 months. Again, this is mainly due to a decline in childminders offering the extended funded hours, followed by state schools.
'Many families will be left without the childcare they need'
Commenting, Helen Hayes, Labour’s shadow minister for children and early years, said, ‘Under the Conservatives, the extortionate costs of childcare are already pricing parents out of work and causing intolerable cost of living pressures. The loss of further providers will make the situation even worse.
‘With Government underfunding forcing provider closures across the country, and fewer offering subsidised hours, many families will be left without the childcare they need, and children will be left unable to benefit from high-quality early years education.’
Staff qualifications
On early years staff qualifications, the DfE statistics show there has been no change in the percentage of employees working in PVI settings with a degree since 2018, while there has been a marginal increase in the percentage of graduate-level childminders.
The latest DfE statistics are available here
