Early years entitlements expansion: MI data
Management information on eligibility codes for the extended childcare entitlement for eligible working parents.
Applies to England
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To access a government-funded childcare entitlement place, parents and carers must apply for an eligibility code. The code is then validated by early years providers or local authorities when a place has been secured at an early years setting.
This publication provides the number of eligibility codes issued to parents and the number of codes validated to date. In addition to this, the latest release also introduces – for the first time – estimates of the number of parents who have benefited from the entitlement, as well as validation rates by area‑level deprivation using Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) deciles.
In March 2023, the government announced that funded childcare hours would be extended to children of eligible working parents in England from 9 months old to support increased parental engagement in the labour market.
The policy had a phased rollout, with 15 hours per week for 38 weeks a year offered to eligible parents of 2-year-olds from April 2024 and to eligible parents of children under 2 from September 2024.
As of September 2025, all eligible parents of children aged 9 months and older are able to access 30 hours per week for 38 weeks a year.
Previous releases of management information are available on Explore education statistics.
Updates to this page
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Updated with data for March 2026.
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Updated 'Expansion to early years childcare entitlements: eligibility codes issued and validated'.
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Updated with October data. Previously published May data is available on Explore education statistics.
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First published.