According to the inspectorate, 80,000 eligible children missed out on a free early years place last year. This is despite the fact that there has been a 10 per cent increase in take-up since Ofsted reported on this in June last year.
Chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw commissioned a survey to evaluate the effectiveness of local authorities and early years providers in tackling the issues facing disadvantaged families and their young children.
The report said that the failure to reach the poorest children meant that 'tens of thousands' of poor children were losing out as more than £200 million set aside to fund free places for two-year-olds goes unspent.
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