Children in funded early education by type of provider by council, England

Accredited official statistics

Children registered for funded early education in January, for 3 and 4-year-olds, 2-year-olds and working parents' children, in state-funded schools and private, voluntary and independent settings, in each of England's councils with education duties, with the regions and England, from the DfE.

England

1,127,056

January 2026 · 3 and 4-year-olds' universal hours: all providers

Verified against source, 1 November 2026, 12:19 UTC

Children in funded early education by type of provider by council, England

Source: Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Data table

163 rows

Area	3 and 4-year-olds' universal hours: all providers	3 and 4-year-olds' universal hours: state-funded schools	3 and 4-year-olds' universal hours: private, voluntary and independent providers	Early learning for 2-year-olds: all providers	Early learning for 2-year-olds: state-funded schools	Early learning for 2-year-olds: private, voluntary and independent providers	Working parents' hours: all providers	Working parents' hours: state-funded schools	Working parents' hours: private, voluntary and independent providers
Kent E10000016	33,175	14,418	18,757	2,514	220	2,294	24,880	1,220	23,660
Essex E10000012	31,989	14,328	17,661	2,082	325	1,757	26,720	1,676	25,044
Hampshire E10000014	26,828	10,513	16,315	1,374	182	1,192	24,657	638	24,019
Hertfordshire E10000015	25,701	16,005	9,696	1,773	266	1,507	21,553	3,515	18,038
Birmingham E08000025	25,476	15,900	9,576	2,550	568	1,982	13,452	1,492	11,960
Lancashire E10000017	24,877	12,419	12,458	2,340	457	1,883	23,067	1,802	21,265
Surrey E10000030	24,810	12,034	12,776	890	279	611	20,101	2,094	18,007
Staffordshire E10000028	17,349	9,733	7,616	1,212	401	811	16,774	2,169	14,605
West Sussex E10000032	16,909	6,744	10,165	991	93	898	14,831	431	14,400
Leeds E08000035	16,685	10,788	5,897	1,052	207	845	14,229	1,933	12,296
Nottinghamshire E10000024	16,352	10,722	5,630	975	214	761	15,297	2,469	12,828
Norfolk E10000020	15,207	7,866	7,341	1,066	256	810	11,984	1,163	10,821
Oxfordshire E10000025	14,492	8,523	5,969	668	214	454	12,776	1,899	10,877
Derbyshire E10000007	14,356	8,425	5,931	846	88	758	13,993	1,713	12,280
Suffolk E10000029	13,845	6,915	6,930	862	101	761	10,766	885	9,881
Leicestershire E10000018	13,830	5,822	8,008	646	68	578	13,827	507	13,320
Devon E10000008	13,800	7,744	6,056	1,040	545	495	12,717	1,685	11,032
Lincolnshire E10000019	13,152	6,113	7,039	1,135	146	989	11,611	639	10,972
Cambridgeshire E10000003	12,965	6,214	6,751	681	187	494	11,130	746	10,384
Warwickshire E10000031	12,730	6,130	6,600	691	147	544	11,662	969	10,693
Bradford E08000032	12,693	9,032	3,661	1,374	520	854	7,547	1,337	6,210
Gloucestershire E10000013	12,391	5,448	6,943	689	136	553	11,619	701	10,918
Buckinghamshire E06000060	11,632	6,270	5,362	549	119	430	9,724	1,084	8,640
Manchester E08000003	11,593	9,169	2,424	1,305	175	1,130	5,568	1,224	4,344
Worcestershire E10000034	11,129	6,062	5,067	878	231	647	10,922	1,394	9,528
Sheffield E08000039	11,002	6,901	4,101	867	340	527	8,257	904	7,353
North Yorkshire E06000065	10,856	5,474	5,382	527	94	433	11,822	1,225	10,597
Somerset E06000066	10,036	5,136	4,900	706	330	376	8,821	1,149	7,672
Liverpool E08000012	9,915	6,519	3,396	1,200	355	845	7,499	1,077	6,422
Wiltshire E06000054	9,621	3,710	5,911	502	65	437	9,350	332	9,018
Cornwall E06000052	9,447	5,076	4,371	743	194	549	8,787	1,151	7,636
County Durham E06000047	9,168	6,511	2,657	1,371	734	637	7,941	1,948	5,993
Kirklees E08000034	9,167	4,569	4,598	771	39	732	7,301	377	6,924
East Sussex E10000011	9,021	4,392	4,629	684	180	504	7,365	696	6,669
Bristol, City of E06000023	8,877	5,463	3,414	756	492	264	7,488	899	6,589
West Northamptonshire E06000062	8,865	4,593	4,272	386	104	282	7,525	626	6,899
Croydon E09000008	8,253	4,473	3,780	699	144	555	6,133	738	5,395
Newham E09000025	8,229	6,310	1,919	799	326	473	3,488	842	2,646
Sandwell E08000028	8,195	5,677	2,518	729	39	690	3,960	530	3,430
Cheshire East E06000049	7,974	4,407	3,567	393	175	218	7,999	959	7,040
Barnet E09000003	7,835	4,636	3,199	429	201	228	5,445	892	4,553
Leicester E06000016	7,759	4,851	2,908	612	17	595	3,711	448	3,263
Coventry E08000026	7,713	5,208	2,505	664	90	574	4,614	626	3,988
Redbridge E09000026	7,567	4,536	3,031	447	5	442	4,045	433	3,612
North Northamptonshire E06000061	7,424	3,966	3,458	507	193	314	6,261	703	5,558
Wakefield E08000036	7,375	5,445	1,930	570	121	449	5,888	1,139	4,749
Ealing E09000009	7,275	5,198	2,077	421	76	345	3,661	729	2,932
Central Bedfordshire E06000056	7,105	4,742	2,363	410	129	281	6,432	1,355	5,077
Bromley E09000006	7,104	2,992	4,112	393	35	358	5,794	342	5,452
Bolton E08000001	7,100	4,699	2,401	600	287	313	4,759	808	3,951
Cheshire West and Chester E06000050	6,948	3,645	3,303	555	117	438	6,773	660	6,113
Hillingdon E09000017	6,945	4,840	2,105	320	75	245	4,126	675	3,451
Wigan E08000010	6,916	3,758	3,158	784	157	627	6,542	714	5,828
Walsall E08000030	6,703	5,463	1,240	702	299	403	3,476	1,026	2,450
Milton Keynes E06000042	6,697	3,718	2,979	512	147	365	5,025	567	4,458
Salford E08000006	6,667	4,114	2,553	545	0	545	5,442	609	4,833
Doncaster E08000017	6,639	4,826	1,813	555	66	489	4,907	825	4,082
Enfield E09000010	6,593	4,140	2,453	689	215	474	3,632	583	3,049
Dudley E08000027	6,586	4,241	2,345	503	122	381	4,609	578	4,031
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole E06000058	6,547	2,804	3,743	391	29	362	5,804	171	5,633
Brent E09000005	6,545	4,072	2,473	514	95	419	3,057	465	2,592
Medway E06000035	6,423	3,661	2,762	535	74	461	4,851	582	4,269
Stockport E08000007	6,304	3,976	2,328	495	77	418	6,317	956	5,361
Wolverhampton E08000031	6,258	4,827	1,431	591	259	332	2,964	596	2,368
Greenwich E09000011	6,251	3,709	2,542	457	94	363	4,071	607	3,464
Havering E09000016	6,209	3,145	3,064	411	35	376	4,879	466	4,413
Barking and Dagenham E09000002	6,196	3,775	2,421	792	5	787	2,696	381	2,315
South Gloucestershire E06000025	6,180	2,365	3,815	296	15	281	6,367	150	6,217
Waltham Forest E09000031	6,157	4,161	1,996	438	130	308	4,569	942	3,627
Wirral E08000015	6,100	3,969	2,131	719	243	476	5,708	1,117	4,591
Nottingham E06000018	6,084	4,392	1,692	579	86	493	3,134	527	2,607
Dorset E06000059	6,021	2,728	3,293	425	163	262	5,566	432	5,134
Oldham E08000004	5,952	4,129	1,823	715	123	592	3,678	631	3,047
East Riding of Yorkshire E06000011	5,924	3,328	2,596	661	34	627	6,417	804	5,613
Northumberland E06000057	5,922	4,138	1,784	626	274	352	5,684	1,331	4,353
Hackney E09000012	5,912	2,716	3,196	414	138	276	5,686	592	5,094
Newcastle upon Tyne E08000021	5,877	3,870	2,007	745	219	526	3,988	569	3,419
Luton E06000032	5,868	3,266	2,602	452	101	351	2,643	553	2,090
Tower Hamlets E09000030	5,838	4,504	1,334	633	155	478	2,295	645	1,650
Derby E06000015	5,826	3,949	1,877	601	165	436	3,774	674	3,100
Lewisham E09000023	5,757	3,456	2,301	373	67	306	4,455	566	3,889
Wandsworth E09000032	5,651	2,997	2,654	280	73	207	3,100	394	2,706
Hounslow E09000018	5,643	3,615	2,028	348	72	276	2,638	301	2,337
Rotherham E08000018	5,639	4,079	1,560	678	210	468	4,540	1,185	3,355
Shropshire E06000051	5,550	3,437	2,113	401	199	202	5,200	892	4,308
Stoke-on-Trent E06000021	5,508	4,348	1,160	539	79	460	3,404	894	2,510
Kingston upon Hull, City of E06000010	5,485	3,841	1,644	784	175	609	3,236	497	2,739
Harrow E09000015	5,477	3,023	2,454	249	6	243	2,879	204	2,675
Sunderland E08000024	5,405	4,607	798	502	321	181	4,100	1,594	2,506
Rochdale E08000005	5,394	3,276	2,118	465	27	438	3,939	542	3,397
Bexley E09000004	5,321	2,932	2,389	278	7	271	4,099	421	3,678
Sefton E08000014	5,205	3,496	1,709	427	176	251	4,684	879	3,805
Swindon E06000030	5,030	3,068	1,962	364	100	264	4,093	674	3,419
Peterborough E06000031	5,004	2,217	2,787	543	42	501	3,533	217	3,316
Tameside E08000008	4,970	3,276	1,694	453	26	427	4,063	730	3,333
Haringey E09000014	4,953	3,403	1,550	505	196	309	3,185	731	2,454
Cumberland E06000063	4,938	3,496	1,442	374	196	178	4,712	1,024	3,688
Barnsley E08000038	4,924	3,198	1,726	691	7	684	3,919	433	3,486
Trafford E08000009	4,900	3,201	1,699	220	13	207	4,988	906	4,082
Lambeth E09000022	4,879	3,066	1,813	344	99	245	3,620	646	2,974
Southwark E09000028	4,819	3,226	1,593	380	139	241	3,156	598	2,558
Solihull E08000029	4,704	3,293	1,411	361	63	298	4,061	917	3,144
Plymouth E06000026	4,664	2,604	2,060	393	144	249	3,999	502	3,497
Southampton E06000045	4,637	2,207	2,430	400	85	315	3,263	223	3,040
Calderdale E08000033	4,341	2,413	1,928	436	69	367	3,879	342	3,537
Thurrock E06000034	4,340	2,729	1,611	306	74	232	3,122	509	2,613
Sutton E09000029	4,260	2,706	1,554	257	13	244	3,211	487	2,724
Brighton and Hove E06000043	4,213	1,761	2,452	331	26	305	4,001	157	3,844
Bedford E06000055	4,201	2,628	1,573	371	143	228	3,101	493	2,608
Warrington E06000007	4,163	2,206	1,957	296	120	176	4,173	483	3,690
North Somerset E06000024	4,156	2,103	2,053	235	84	151	4,013	358	3,655
Telford and Wrekin E06000020	4,147	2,576	1,571	397	124	273	3,352	563	2,789
Stockton-on-Tees E06000004	4,101	3,298	803	373	141	232	3,462	768	2,694
North Tyneside E08000022	4,065	3,020	1,045	307	81	226	4,218	870	3,348
Richmond upon Thames E09000027	4,064	2,012	2,052	110	9	101	2,448	204	2,244
Merton E09000024	4,009	2,697	1,312	216	15	201	2,497	500	1,997
Slough E06000039	3,999	2,831	1,168	233	66	167	1,770	383	1,387
Portsmouth E06000044	3,999	1,808	2,191	338	58	280	3,218	107	3,111
Bury E08000002	3,884	2,629	1,255	267	53	214	3,685	606	3,079
Gateshead E08000037	3,875	2,578	1,297	289	95	194	3,339	594	2,745
Wokingham E06000041	3,851	2,016	1,835	58	9	49	3,273	359	2,914
St. Helens E08000013	3,713	2,229	1,484	424	115	309	3,423	479	2,944
Blackburn with Darwen E06000008	3,677	2,087	1,590	316	50	266	2,381	187	2,194
Westmorland and Furness E06000064	3,670	2,595	1,075	213	114	99	3,936	1,052	2,884
Knowsley E08000011	3,665	2,629	1,036	387	52	335	3,232	722	2,510
Reading E06000038	3,660	2,230	1,430	217	82	135	2,474	300	2,174
Bath and North East Somerset E06000022	3,577	1,641	1,936	194	63	131	3,450	278	3,172
Southend-on-Sea E06000033	3,570	1,960	1,610	243	39	204	2,391	207	2,184
Islington E09000019	3,499	2,281	1,218	429	203	226	1,936	573	1,363
Middlesbrough E06000002	3,348	2,758	590	551	278	273	1,992	477	1,515
Herefordshire, County of E06000019	3,309	1,736	1,573	177	41	136	3,058	367	2,691
York E06000014	3,271	1,714	1,557	180	51	129	3,550	351	3,199
West Berkshire E06000037	3,230	1,639	1,591	142	65	77	2,904	336	2,568
Kingston upon Thames E09000021	3,134	1,846	1,288	138	41	97	2,464	347	2,117
Windsor and Maidenhead E06000040	3,118	1,535	1,583	115	17	98	2,423	265	2,158
North Lincolnshire E06000013	3,075	1,760	1,315	291	6	285	2,528	202	2,326
North East Lincolnshire E06000012	3,009	1,912	1,097	377	72	305	2,337	388	1,949
South Tyneside E08000023	2,955	2,283	672	265	81	184	2,329	582	1,747
Hammersmith and Fulham E09000013	2,925	1,592	1,333	164	77	87	1,393	288	1,105
Camden E09000007	2,879	1,661	1,218	283	82	201	1,341	202	1,139
Bracknell Forest E06000036	2,739	1,573	1,166	132	6	126	2,424	360	2,064
Blackpool E06000009	2,629	1,544	1,085	366	100	266	1,859	217	1,642
Redcar and Cleveland E06000003	2,607	2,294	313	361	158	203	1,794	387	1,407
Halton E06000006	2,371	1,225	1,146	289	36	253	1,953	153	1,800
Kensington and Chelsea E09000020	2,351	1,092	1,259	116	24	92	638	214	424
Westminster E09000033	2,251	1,383	868	215	84	131	1,046	181	865
Darlington E06000005	2,083	1,392	691	230	126	104	1,811	359	1,452
Torbay E06000027	2,078	1,314	764	180	101	79	1,703	323	1,380
Isle of Wight E06000046	1,989	771	1,218	143	6	137	1,683	35	1,648
Hartlepool E06000001	1,890	1,659	231	273	184	89	1,302	314	988
Rutland E06000017	587	259	328	19	4	15	553	34	519
City of London E09000001	90	38	52	3	0	3	74	12	62
Isles of Scilly E06000053	45	21	24	0	0	0	40	0	40
North East	51,296	38,408	12,888	5,893	2,692	3,201	41,960	9,793	32,167
North West	153,525	94,693	58,832	14,148	3,244	10,904	130,380	18,537	111,843
Yorkshire and The Humber	110,085	69,280	40,805	9,814	2,011	7,803	90,357	11,942	78,415
East Midlands	94,235	53,092	41,143	6,306	1,085	5,221	79,686	8,340	71,346
West Midlands	125,357	78,631	46,726	10,395	2,662	7,733	91,508	13,013	78,495
East of England	129,795	68,870	60,925	8,789	1,663	7,126	103,375	11,319	92,056
London	174,871	106,233	68,638	12,544	2,936	9,608	107,757	16,201	91,556
South East	185,422	88,644	96,778	10,826	1,928	8,898	151,643	11,736	139,907
South West	102,470	51,225	51,245	6,914	2,461	4,453	93,817	8,805	85,012
England	1,127,056	649,076	477,980	85,629	20,682	64,947	890,483	109,686	780,797

Download CSV Download JSON with full provenance

Map

3 and 4-year-olds' universal hours: all providers · 132 areas, each shaded by the fifth of the areas its figure falls in

45 to 3,577
3,577 to 4,879
4,879 to 5,924
5,924 to 7,275
7,275 to 25k

Boundaries: Council boundaries, May 2026, from the geography spine. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source and licence

Publisher

Department for Education

Check it yourself

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/funded-early-education-and-childcare

Licence

Open Government Licence v3.0 – Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Retrieved

1 November 2026, 12:16 UTC

Raw files fetched

https://api.education.gov.uk/statistics/v1/data-sets/019fad30-2cd4-7509-a184-6e649f26547b/meta?dataSetVersion=1.0SHA-256 3454831249ef49f3a99f5b74520443f8579bc2f976f013bffbb43d1264dee0f2 · 14,989 bytes
https://api.education.gov.uk/statistics/v1/data-sets/019fad30-2cd4-7509-a184-6e649f26547b/query?dataSetVersion=1.0&indicators=l8Wzc,Uh9CR&geographicLevels.in=LA,REG,NAT&timePeriods.eq=2026%7CRY&filters.notIn=w739b,olFGm,93vC4,dh7E0,On63C,LiTVW,6gLhr,qHxKj,a10eL,BVDt7,zeqOF,kxVeh,u2zVo,Xdwgf,TafSP,cDoL3,5kBpd&pageSize=10000SHA-256 d37be9452bea1fc162049f9007834af86f68e2fd2534cde0b4d4de8a0d946d22 · 376,179 bytes

Verification

Verified against source, 1 November 2026, 12:19 UTC Run at 1 November 2026, 12:19 UTC; 1467 of 1467 figures matched the live source.

Result	Check	Detail
Pass	Provenance recorded	Department for Education; Open Government Licence v3.0; retrieved 2026-11-01T12:16:15Z; 2 raw file(s)
Pass	Raw files match recorded SHA-256	2 of 2 files intact
Pass	Re-parsing raw files reproduces figures	1467 of 1467 figures and the headline reproduced
Pass	Figures are finite numbers	1467 figures, 0 invalid
Pass	Live source matches every figure	1467 of 1467 figures match exactly after downloading 2 source file(s) again (1 byte-identical); the headline matches
Pass	EES data set is current	latest period January 2026 ended 274 days before retrieval (limit 560)
Pass	The data set's CSV agrees	2970 of 2970 cells of the stored query, figures and marks, equal version 1.0's CSV (https://api.education.gov.uk/statistics/v1/data-sets/019fad30-2cd4-7509-a184-6e649f26547b/csv?dataSetVersion=1.0, 1485 rows read)
Pass	The councils add up to their region and the regions to England	180 comparisons expected, each region's councils and England's regions in every count and combination: 180 within the rounding the DfE states (180 exactly); no sum can show one council's figure filed under another's code: only the CSV's agreement, and another publication where there is one, bear on that
Pass	Source page answers	https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/funded-early-education-and-childcare – HTTP 200

Notes

Providers delivering each funded entitlement in January and the children registered with them, as the DfE's early years census and school census count them: the universal 15 hours for every 3 and 4-year-old, early learning for 2-year-olds who meet its criteria and the hours for children of working parents. A provider offering more than one entitlement counts under each.
State-funded schools are nursery, primary, secondary and special schools and governor-run provision; private, voluntary and independent providers include childminders and independent schools, as the DfE groups them.
The DfE gives these figures for England's 153 councils with education and children's services duties (its unitary, metropolitan and London councils and its 21 counties), not for districts.