Childcare provision lower in disadvantaged areas

The National Audit Office has reported that the take-up of free early education and childcare places is lower in the most deprived areas of England.

The Department for Education currently funds three entitlements to free early education and childcare for pre-school children in England, aiming to support children’s development and help parents manage childcare costs so that they can work.

However, in 2019, there was a 17 percentage points gap in the proportion of children achieving a good level of development between children in the 10 per cent most and least deprived areas.The NAO says that this risks increasing the development gap between disadvantaged children and their peers, and could have a negative impact on social mobility.

Since 2016-17, the NAO estimates that total funding has increased by 24 per cent in real terms due to the introduction of the extended entitlement for working parents of three- and four-year olds. However, funding for the disadvantage and universal entitlements has fallen by four per cent. There is conflicting evidence on whether the DfE’s funding is sufficient to cover the costs of early years providers.

Take-up of the universal entitlement of 15 hours per week for all three- and four-year olds is high, with 93 per cent using the entitlement in January 2019. However, the DfE has missed its aspiration for between 73 per cent and 77 per cent of eligible two-year-olds to take up the disadvantage entitlement of 15 hours per week. In 2019, take-up nationally fell to 68 per cent, and varied between 39 per cent and 97 per cent among different local authorities. Families in deprived areas are less likely than families in other areas to take up these free childcare places. This is partly due to barriers to making use of the entitlements particularly affecting disadvantaged families.

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “Families with young children across the country are benefiting from their entitlement to free early education and childcare places, which aim to prepare children for school and improve their life chances. However, if these entitlements are to help level the playing field, it is essential that more disadvantaged children benefit from high-quality childcare. DfE should do more to ensure that all disadvantaged families are aware of the free childcare on offer and are able to access it.”