Nursery World - Parents in deprived areas less likely to use funded childcare

Children living in the poorest areas are less likely to attend formal childcare settings and their parents are less aware of the free entitlement, according to new DfE statistics.

The DfE survey found that fewer parents in deprived areas use formal childcare

The latest Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents in England shows that 74 per cent of children living in the least deprived areas took up a childcare place in 2019, compared to 57 per cent of children in the most deprived areas.

The annual statistics also reveal that three- and four-year-olds are most likely to attend formal childcare settings, while children aged one and under are least likely.

A third of children from birth to four used informal childcare last year. Children were most likely to be cared for by grandparents.

Parents on the lowest incomes (earning below £10,000) and those living in the most deprived areas were less likely to be aware of the entitlement to 15 hours of free childcare.

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