Early years and childcare

Childcare provision and attendance

General figures on childcare provision are published as part of the annual Department for Education childcare and early years providers survey. Statistics are available for the number of childcare and early years providers, the number of childminders and the ownership and charitable status of providers. Breakdowns are provided regionally and historical figures tend to date back to the early 2000s.

Detailed figures on private fostering arrangements are published in a dedicated release.

Data on the number of available foster places and the number of children filling them is collected in the same place. There are similar regional and historical breakdowns, as well as details on the age and disability of children and the number of places in deprived areas.

The childcare and early years providers survey includes information on the number of people who work in childcare, what type of job they do, their working hours and pay levels. There are also further details on the qualifications of staff. The data is broken down by childcare provider, staff grade, and region (including whether or not the local area is considered deprived).

Cost of childcare

The Family and Childcare Trust publishes annual childcare costs surveys in January and February (for nursery, childminder and out-of-school childcare costs) and in July (for holiday costs). The figures show the Trust’s estimates for average weekly childcare costs. There’s data on the type of childcare available in each region and the most/least expensive providers.

Children in need

The Department for Education collects figures on ‘children in need’ using referral figures from social care services. Children in need are those who have been referred to their local authority as a result of possible abuse or neglect and have been assessed to be in need of services.

The number of children referred to local authorities and the number assessed as being in need is published as part of the Department for Education’s children in need statistics. The data is broken down by age, gender, ethnicity, disability, and type of abuse. Figures for children on protection plans are published in the same place.

Children in care

Some children are looked after by local authority social services, often as a result of abuse, neglect or family dysfunction.

Figures that show the number of children who are ‘looked after’ by local authorities are published annually by the Department for Education. The release also lists the reasons why children are looked after and how many are placed for adoption or fostering. The data is broken down by age, gender and ethnicity, and is available at local authority level.

In addition, there are figures that show how many children were adopted (along with child characteristics), as well as how long the adoption process takes for different children.

Data on the educational outcomes of children being (or previously) looked after is published as part of a separate release.

Inspection performance

Ofsted’s Data View is an interactive tool for inspection outcomes in a range of remits including early years, children’s centres, schools, further education and skills and children’s social care.