Newly published Department for Education figures shows the number of disadvantaged two-year-olds registered to take up the 15 hours early education entitlement fell by 13 per cent in January 2021 compared with the same month a year earlier, before the pandemic struck.
This year, 124,500 two-year-olds were registered to receive the entitlement, just 62 per cent of those eligible – a seven percentage point fall on 12 months earlier. The entitlement is available to all two-year-olds from the 40 per cent most disadvantaged families in England.
The number of three- and four-year-olds registered to take the universal 15 hours entitlement fell by five per cent, from 93 to 88 per cent of those eligible. Meanwhile, the number registered to take up 30-hour places – available to children of parents who work more than 14 hours per week – also fell five per cent.
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