pre school education in uk

Preschool Education in the UK

Though the state school system in the United Kingdom begins at the age of five, working parents can enroll their children in preschool education. Preschool education in the UK is provided by numerous educational institutions, such as childcare centers, playgroups, nursery schools and nursery classes within primary schools. Preschools are working from Monday to Friday, generally from 7 am to 6 pm, allowing parents work a full day. The main aim of preschool education is to develop child’s grasp of the language, numbers, and colors, as well as to provide them with early childhood interaction.

History of Preschool Education in the UK

In the 19th century, with the growth of the Industrial Revolution and numbers of factories opened because of it, the nursery school movement began. As mothers were expected to work, there was a need to provide young children with care. So in 1816, the first nursery school was opened. It provided care and education for the young children of cotton mill workers. It is worth to mention that first nursery schools were privately run.

In 1870, mandatory education for children who reached the age of 5 was introduced. With the course of time, there has been a notable increase in demand for preschool provision as the society changed rapidly. There was an increase in dual income families, single parents, teen parents.

Preschool Education Today

Though preschool education for children under 5 is not compulsory, it is very popular in the UK. In 1998, a government scheme that makes provision for part-time, ‘early years’ education for children who reached the age of 4 was introduced.

Children in the UK can attend preschools for three two-and-a-half hour sessions a week at a registered play scheme or school of the parents’ choice. It is worth to mention that the provision of preschool education in the UK is considered to be the lowest in Europe. In comparison to the UK, 95% of children in such countries as Belgium and France attend nursery schools. Children from the age of 3 to 5 can attend local state nursery schools, nursery schools attached to primary schools or registered play schemes.

Tough Local Education authority states that nursery schools are not mandatory, it must ensure that there are free places at play schemes if there aren’t enough state nursery schools.

Generally, nursery education in the UK can be provided on a first-come, first served basis. Furthermore, parents can choose from a variety of preschools and apply for a number of preschool educational institutions as they have no catchment area. Nevertheless, most parents in the UK prefer to focus on state nursery schools attached to primary schools to ensure that their child will have a place in the primary school later. It is wise to register a child as soon as possible.

The Cost of Preschool Education

If you are unable to enroll your child in a state-aided nursery school, you will have to pay for the attendance. The cost of private nursery schools varies. Generally, it is ranged from £50 a week to £15,000 a year. In average, a short-term at preschool that includes 25 hours of attendance will cost you about £100.

There are many preschools in the UK that accept children from the age of 2. Just note that if you want your child to be enrolled in such early education, it is required that your child has to be toilet trained. Also, note that if you want your child to be enrolled in all day nursery school, a packed lunch provided by the school is required and it will cost you some extra money.

There are about 800 nursery schools in the UK that use the world-famous Montessori method of teaching. Some of them allow you to choose from a number of morning or afternoon sessions.

Advantages of Attending Preschool

Though preschools such as playgrounds generally do not provide children with education and are focused on educational games, statistic shows that children who attend play schools are generally brighter and usually progress much faster when school begins than those who do not.

Nursery schools are highly recommended for families with children who came from overseas and do not use the English language at home. In this case, attending a nursery school will help your child to assimilate faster, to integrate into the local community and to get prepared to primary school.

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The pre-school guide for parents in the UK

When you are a first-time parent, pre-school can seem pretty daunting and a little overwhelming. Ultimately, pre-school is a setting that will help your little ones develop the skills they will need when they start school at around the age of 4, but there is so much to do when it comes to finding a place that is right for you and your child. If the idea of finding a pre-school feels a bit overwhelming and unknown, then fear not as we are here with our guide to help parents with all things pre-schools.

What is pre-school?

Pre-school is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school. There is no requirement to send your child to pre-school, but many parents choose to so that when they start reception, it isn’t such a shock to the system. There is usually an emphasis on play and developing essential social, physical and communication skills in readiness for primary school. You may find that a pre-school is privately or publicly owned but all settings in England will follow the Early Learning Goals set by the Early Years Foundation Stage to give all children the best start to their educational journey. 

How old does your child have to be to go to pre-school?

As pre-school isn’t compulsory there isn’t a hard and fast rule around this and the age that a pre-school will take children will depend on the individual pre-school. That being said, the majority of pre-schools will take children from the age of 3 or 4 so that they will have a minimum of a year of pre-school before attending primary school.

What are the benefits of pre-school?

There are so many benefits to your child attending pre-school. One of the biggest benefits is for their own development. By attending a setting at an early age, they will learn that even though you may leave them, you will always come back at the end of the day to pick them up. They will learn to become more independent and less reliant on always having a parent with them to do things for them. By leaving them at a pre-school that you are happy with then you will know that they are safe and happy, and it will also help you to get used to being away from them. It can be difficult for both you are your child if, when they start full time primary school, they have to go from being with you all the time to suddenly being at school for 7 hours, 5 days a week.

Aside from the emotional benefits, there are so many other benefits to pre-school including:

• Building social skills
• Giving them a start to education
• Increased concentration
• Improved confidence and self esteem
• Stronger communication skills

Is pre-school different to nursery? If so, how?

There are a number of differences between pre-school and nursery, and it is down to personal preference as to where you choose to send your child. Your choice will depend on your child’s age, what you are looking for from a setting and how you child is developmentally. Difference include:

• Nurseries will take children from ages one – three where as pre-schools generally take children from three – five.
• Pre-schools have a formal curriculum and trained teachers. Conversely, nursery schools have a more relaxed environment and have a wider variety of programs.
• Nurseries tend to cost more than pre-schools do but this is not a hard and fast rule.
• Pre-schools emphasis preparing the children for future education, while nurseries give a lighter learning experience and act more like a childcare provider.

Is pre-school better than nursery?

The answer to this question depends on your and your child. If your child is under the age of 3 then a nursery may be more suite to them as they generally have a smaller child to staff ratio so therefore can give me focused attention and can provide care such as feeding and/or nap times. If your child is older then pre-school may be better for them as this setting will prepare them for school and help them with elements such as routine, concentration and educational skills they will need at primary school.

How to choose a pre-school

When it comes to choosing a pre-school one of the most important things is to do your research and to visit as many as you can to get a feel for the different settings. Different pre-schools will offer different things and it is essential to find somewhere that you and your child are happy with. You want to find somewhere safe and where you feel that your child will be happy and looked after.

When visiting a pre-school, it is always worth thinking about what you are looking for and asking some basic questions so that you can understand what the pre-school can offer.

Questions such as:

• How many children will be in the class and how many staff will be there to supervise them?
• Can we see your most recent Ofsted report?
• Can you give me an example of a typical day for my child?
• How do you handle a child who is having a tantrum?
• What is the toilet situation? Are children expected to be potty trained and independent when it comes to going to the toilet or are there staff to help?

How much does pre-school cost? Is there any childcare funding help?

The cost of pre-school will be set by each individual pre-school but the average cost of pre-school per hour in England in 2020 was £3.72 per hour. You can get help with childcare finding though. All children aged 3-4 are entitled to 15 hours’ worth of funded childcare per week. Some may be entitled to up to 30 hours per week. To find out what funding you may be able to get then head over to the gov.uk website here opens in a new window .

What will my child do/learn at pre-school?

Once again, this will differ for each preschool but the majority of the play at pre-school is focused around developing simple and fundamental skills that they need for when they start school. As an example, your child may do activities such as outdoor play, painting, playdoh, brick building, story time, singing, water and sand play, dressing up among many other things.

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4. Point out numbers on the go

Point out the numbers you see when you are out and about and encourage your child to do the same. Look for bus numbers, prices and house numbers. When shopping, ask your child to select the number of apples or bananas you need – they’re helping you out, and learning at the same time.

5. Dress up

Dressing up and role play are great opportunities for talking and listening and for imaginative play. On a practical level, a fun dressing up session can help your child to practise getting themselves dressed. You can fit in a sneaky bit of training with those tricky zips, armholes and buttons.

How can I find free Early Years education for my child?

All children in the UK aged 3–4 are entitled to free part-time education:

• Parents in England can find out more about Early Years settings   here .
• Parents in Scotland can find out about funded early learning and childcare   here .
• Parents in Wales can find more about free early education and childcare   here .
• Parents in Northern Ireland can find out more about free childcare   here .

Early Years Curricula for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

The information on this page is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage in England. Much of this information is also relevant for children across the UK, but do refer to the following curriculum links for more detail:

• Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework in England
• Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland: Experiences and Outcomes
• Curriculum for Wales: Foundation Phase Framework
• Curricular Guidance for Pre-School Education in Northern Ireland

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For more ideas to help your 3–4-year-old thrive in the Early Years, take a look at our fun learning ideas for toddlers >

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Transforming early childhood education policy and practice

Research on early childhood education has helped shape policy and practice in the UK and beyond. Major longitudinal studies – Effective Preschool, Primary and Secondary Education Study (EPPSE) 1997-2016) and its follow up Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) – demonstrated the long-term benefits of early education, identified effective pedagogy, and illustrated the power of the home learning environment. Evidence generated has helped shape government initiatives such as the provision of free early childhood education to millions of 2-4 year olds. More recently, it has fed into the current Department of Education initiative, ‘ Hungry Little Minds ’ – a suite of freely downloadable resources for parents to stimulate their child’s cognitive and linguistic development at home. Internationally, governments and early education providers in Australia, Hong Kong, Norway and Japan have used the tools and findings from the research to improve the early education provision of tens of thousands of children.

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Research on Early Childhood Education in the UK

Cite this chapter.

• Edward Melhuish  

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Virtually every developed country has set up some form of early childhood education for children below the age of compulsory schooling. The differences lie in the organisational forms, the level of state subsidy, the responsible authorities and the age at which children access provision. In many countries public authorities offer subsidised places from a very early age, often from the end of statutory maternity leave. However, this does not necessarily mean that demand for these places is fully met. In the UK school starts at age 5 so early childhood education concerns children under 5 years of age. Early childhood education in the UK occurs in several types of provision.

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Melhuish, E. (2013). Research on Early Childhood Education in the UK. In: Stamm, M., Edelmann, D. (eds) Handbuch frühkindliche Bildungsforschung. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-19066-2_15

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Children's Education

Learn about the education system in the UK: local public and private schools, international curriculum options, and the calendar of school holidays.

The UK education system

Explore the UK education system and learn about the levels of schooling, parental involvement, graduating, and educational support.

Childcare in the UK

Childcare in the UK consists of a mix of public and private provisions, and we explain the different types available and how to access them.

Primary schools in the United Kingdom

Will your child attend primary school in the UK? Then read on about state and independent schools, the pros and cons, and how to apply.

International schools in the UK

We outline the different types of international schools in the UK plus the various curricula on offer and the enrollment process for parents.

Preschool and daycare in the UK

Your child can attend a preschool in the UK until they start school at four or five. Here are the things to consider when choosing a daycare.

Secondary schools in the UK

Learn about public and private British secondary schools, including how to apply, costs, and the national curriculum.

School holidays in the UK: 2023 and 2024

Here is a list of school holidays in the UK in 2020 and 2021 plus information on different holiday childcare options for working parents.

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Nursery schools in the UK

All children in the UK go to nursery school. The British believe that pre-school education institutions provide everything necessary for a child’s full growth and development. This is helped by well-tested methods of teaching, education, proper nutrition and development of communication skills, adaptation to the outside world. How are British kindergartens organised? What are their peculiarities? These and other questions will be answered in our material.

Pre-school education in the UK

Usually children from 2-3 years of age are admitted to kindergartens. There are some kindrgartens that also accept children of a younger age. A child attends pre-school until the age of 5-6.

Whilst school places in the UK are only available where you live, you can choose a nursery school of your choice, wherever you live. To find the most suitable nursery school for you and your child, you should contact your local authority. Each of them has a department whose staff will help parents to choose a suitable kindergarten. Each municipality has its own website, where you can get detailed information about the kindergartens operating in this territory.

Another option is to search for a preschool using the internet. There are websites with complete information about preschools.

It is better to start looking for a free place in advance, as it may turn out that there are no places available at the moment. In this case, you can join the queue via the internet and wait for a place to become available. But one way or another, you will be given the opportunity to visit the pre-school without any objections, its staff will conduct a tour, familiarise you with the methods of teaching children. It is possible to discuss the details of payment on the spot.

When picking up a child, the parents will be asked to fill in a special questionnaire, where it will be necessary to indicate which parent has the right to pick up the child from the kindergarten and to attach a photo of the child to the questionnaire. There is also a secret code word, a password, which must be spoken if the child is to be taken away without prior notice.

Some time after completing the questionnaire, you will receive an invitation and a form of agreement for fostering services for your child.

Types of pre-school institutions

There are four types of pre-schools in Britain where parents can place their children:

• Pre-Nursery is a day nursery. These are groups with children up to the age of 3 years; you can also bring a three-month-old child to this group.
• This is a Nursery category kindergarten. This is for children from 3 to 5 years old. Since you can go to school as early as five years old in Britain, nursery schools are designed to prepare you for school.
• Children’s centres. They play the role of kindergartens, where children up to the age of 5 can be enrolled. If kindergartens work full-time, the centres offer classes at certain times. But the methodology of the classes is the same. Children’s centres offer play sessions, developmental lessons, foreign language lessons and educational games.
• Playgroups. These groups give parents the opportunity to be together with their child 3 to 4 days a week. Participants of such groups play together with their children, share their experience of raising children and news. These groups are more suitable for grandparents of children who have free time and want to spend more time with their grandchildren.

Full-service education centres are also very popular in England. This is a structure that includes Pre-Nursery, Nursery and an educational institution. Parents bring their child to the nursery school. He or she, moving to different age groups, but without changing the usual environment and location, starts school in the school operating within this structure. This format usually operates in boarding schools, which have a vast territory and are usually located outside the city in an environmentally favourable environment.

There is an alternative type of early childhood education in the UK. Many British people use nannies and childminders, as well as childminders for hire, and sometimes even just students who are willing to help with childcare for a fee and free accommodation.

But there is also a separate format that successfully competes with formal pre-schools in England. Childminders are people who use their own house or flat as a mini – day care centre. Such home day care centres are in high demand, as they are officially registered with the relevant state authorities and are regularly inspected for quality and conditions. These day care centres have separate rooms where up to 6-7 children can comfortably stay.

Professional childminders organise various contests, home holidays for their charges and strictly fill in a special journal, where they record the successes and achievements of each child on a daily basis. Such mini-kindergartens are convenient for working dads and mums. The child can be brought and picked up at a time convenient for parents.

Parents whose children have developmental disabilities can send them to a state pre-school or a private kindergarten. There are educators there who have experience and the necessary knowledge to work with special children with various deviations. Each child is allocated an assistant and is trained according to special methods and a separate timetable.

There are separate kindergartens for children with speech disorders. You can place your child in them on the basis of a referral from a speech therapist.

State-run nursery school in the UK

Public kindergartens, called “pre-school” or “playgroup”, are often located on school grounds and accept children from 2 to 5 years of age. Unlike private kindergartens, public kindergartens do not have a lot of resources, so many of them set up charitable organisations in order to raise the necessary funds to purchase educational items, equipment. Lunches are not provided for children in state-run kindergartens. If a child spends more than 3 hours in kindergarten, then they may be offered some fruit and buttered toast. Therefore, parents pack their children lunchboxes with food.

Children receive the necessary knowledge — this is the main goal of the staff. The educators strictly adhere to the training programmes developed by the state structures. The methodology includes a format of early learning for children from 2 to 5 years of age. Every week, according to the programme, the carers read fairy tales to the children, play together with them, do creative activities and go on nature trips.

A very big focus in kindergartens is on learning to communicate. The day in each kindergarten usually starts with the teachers gathering their children in a circle and starting a conversation. During the conversation, the carers answer the children’s questions in detail and make sure that the child understands everything from the explanations.

Attendance is compulsory. Non-attendance is only allowed if the child is ill. In such cases it is necessary to inform the management and submit a document confirming the illness after the visit to the polyclinic.

The big disadvantage of public sector pre-schools is that they do not work more than 5 hours a day, which is very inconvenient for parents who work full time. Public kindergartens do not operate during school holidays.

Private kindergartens

Private day care centres offer parents a very convenient working format. Thanks to their flexible working hours, young mothers do not have to be on maternity leave for a long time. And they work all year round, closing only on public holidays. The opening hours of most of them are not restricted as in public ones and they operate from 7 am to 7 or 8 pm. Children 3 to 6 months of age are kept in separate rooms called “baby rooms”, which are equipped with beds, special mats and toys.

Infant nutrition consists of mum’s milk or formula. Infants are also spoon-fed and allowed to eat on their own. Private day care centres strictly adhere to safety rules.

Children in private kindergartens are divided into two blocks. The first includes children from 2 to 3 years of age and the second includes children from 3 to 5 years of age. Each childminder takes care of four children.

From the age of 3, the children start preparing for school , so the carers have lessons with them. At the same time, children spend time playing games, walking in nature and sleeping in the daytime. Usually for daytime sleep in older groups, soft mattresses and mats are placed in the corner of the room for the child to sleep on.

Specific training

Many English people prefer to send their children to prestigious Montessori kindergartens. The main difference between these pre-schools is that natural conditions are created for children: children are supervised by adults to explore the environment on their own.

Thanks to the Montessori method, children develop better and acquire independence skills earlier than other children. The carers work on the basis of special methodological materials that actively contribute to the development of the child.

Forest kindergartens are also popular in the UK, with their own fundamentally different teaching methodology. Children spend the vast majority of their time in nature, namely in the forest. Children play with natural materials, build huts, learn about forest life, and come into direct contact with forest animals by observing their behaviour. Counting sticks for forest schoolchildren are tree branches and river stones, and they learn the alphabet by drawing letters in the sand with a stick.

Children in forest schools learn practical survival skills in the natural environment. They learn how to collect firewood, make fires, cook food over a fire, live and sleep in tents or in the open air on a hammock.

There are also kindergartens in England that specialise in learning foreign languages. Parents who want their child to learn two or more languages from childhood prefer this option.

While there are many different forms for all childcare settings, there are strict rules for government programmes. There are separate standards in Scotland and Wales, but one thing is consistent across the board – children must learn language, social interaction, maths, art, physical and spiritual development through play.

The costs of kindergartens make up a significant part of parents’ income. State structures help to compensate the costs of their citizens. For example, for a child aged 3 years or older, the state pays for 16 hours of pre-school care per week. Therefore, many parents choose a part-time pre-school or a childminder.

There is also a form of payment in England where the cost of childcare is reimbursed by income tax vouchers from parents’ wages.

In Montessori institutions, the fees are much higher. Five days in a day care centre in a less prestigious area of London will cost parents around £416. And the fee for a child over three years old will be £372.

The cost of five days for a child to stay at a woodland day care centre, such as one in the Highgate area of London, would be £340 for spring to autumn and £355 from autumn to spring.

On average, depending on location and neighbourhood, you need to pay between £6,000 and £15,000 a year for a nursery.

Day care fees are usually paid a month in advance. If your child is ill and away for a few days, the money paid for those days will not be refunded. But you may be asked to pay at least £5 for extra time if you do not collect your child on time. You will be paid for every 15 minutes of overtime.

Frequently asked questions on the topic of nurseries in the UK

What are the names of childcare centres in britain.

In Britain, childcare centers vary widely in name and type. State-run preschools, specifically, are commonly known as “playgroups.” These playgroups typically cater to young children and provide early educational experiences in a structured play environment.

At what age can I enrol my child in kindergarten?

Families usually send their child to an early childhood education facility at the age of 2-3 years, but there are facilities that have infant care groups as well.

What do children in private kindergartens eat?

Meals for children in private day care centres are included in the fee. The menu in private institutions consists of vegetables, fruit, lamb, chicken, pizza. At the parents’ request, vegetarian dishes are included in the menu.

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• Childcare and early years survey of parents

Introduction

This Official Statistics release provides the main findings of the 2023 wave in the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents series.   

The survey is funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and managed by Ipsos. It aims to provide information to help monitor the progress of policies and public attitudes in the area of childcare and early years education. 

The 2023 survey reports the findings of interviews, conducted between May 2023 and February 2024, with a nationally representative sample of 5,715 parents with children aged 0 to 14 living in England.  Interviews are primarily carried out face-to-face.  

For ease of interpretation, data from the 2023 survey wave is compared with, in most instances, the most recently comparable survey wave, which varies depending on the specific data under analysis.  In several instances longer-term trends have been described where data from 2023 is compared with earlier survey waves.  

Where differences are commented upon, e.g. as increases or decreases, or differences between sub-groups, these differences are statistically significant. Where differences are not statistically significant, they are described as being ‘in line with’ or ‘unchanged from’ previous figures.  

More detailed findings can be found in the Accompanying Tables (referenced throughout). 

Defining childcare 

The study uses a very inclusive definition of childcare and early years provision. Parents were asked to include any time that the child was not with a resident parent, or a resident parent’s current (or ex-) husband, wife, or partner.  

Formal providers : include nursery schools, nursery classes, reception classes, special day schools, day nurseries, playgroups, childminders, nannies or au-pairs, baby-sitters, breakfast clubs, after-school clubs and holiday clubs. 

Informal providers : include grandparents, older brothers/sisters, other relatives, friends or neighbours. 

Methodological change to the definition of formal childcare 

Prior to the 2023 survey wave, ‘after school clubs and activities’ were grouped and regarded as ‘formal providers’ in the list of childcare providers that is shown to respondents during the survey interview and for reporting purposes. For 2023, the reference to ‘activities’ was removed, so that only ‘after school clubs’ are considered formal providers of childcare. This change was made to distinguish between formal after school clubs and informal activities that children may participate in out of school hours to aid analyses and reporting for those interested in the provision of wraparound childcare.  

A new provider code “Provider of sport, art, leisure, tuition or religious activities” was also added to the list of provider types, to capture such activities that a child may participate in out of school hours (during the week, after school or at the weekend). This new code replaces a former code labelled as “Leisure/sport” that was used previously in reporting. 

The introduction of these changes this wave has led to a decrease in the proportion of parents reporting using any providers and formal providers of childcare compared to 2022, particularly for children aged between 8 and 14 years.  

The addition of the new provider code on the showcard, specifically including examples of childcare providers relating to ‘sport, art, leisure, tuition or religious activities’ has led to an increase in the proportion of parents choosing this code compared to those choosing ‘other childcare provider’ to classify these activities as in previous waves. This is at the overall level and for parents of children aged between 8 and 14 years specifically. 

Implication for funded childcare entitlement expansion

On 15 March 2023, just before fieldwork started, the previous government announced as part of the Spring Budget 2023 that from April 2024 new childcare entitlements for children aged 9 months to 3 years with eligible working parents would start to be rolled out in stages. Parents were asked about their awareness of this new offer in the 2023 survey

Headline facts and figures - 2023

Parents who found it difficult to meet childcare costs.

This is in line with 2022 (32%)

Proportion of parents of children aged 0 to 4 years only who found it difficult or very difficult to meet their childcare costs

Headline facts and figures

Use of childcare and early years provision.

• There has been very little change in the overall use of childcare since 2022 and the trend that younger children were more likely to receive any childcare than older children has continued in 2023. 
• Among children in England aged 0 to 4 years, overall, in 2023, 72% had received some form of childcare, during the most recent term-time week, equating to 2.2 million children. 
• Formal childcare was used by almost two thirds (63%) of children aged 0 to 4 years, equating to 1.9 million children, which is in line with 62% in 2022. This is compared to around a third (32%) of children aged 5 to 14 years, equating to 2.1 million children. 

Mothers, work and childcare

• Among families with children aged 0 to 4 years only, around seven in ten (69%) reported that they were in work, in line with 72% in 2022.  
• In 2023, 66% of working mothers of 0 to 4 year olds said that having reliable childcare helped them to work, a rise from 60% in 2022. The proportion fell to 30% among those in families with children aged 5 to 14 years only, in line with 2022, 29%.  

Perceptions of childcare and early years provision

• Parent’s perceptions of the overall quality of local childcare provision in 2023, has not changed since 2022.  
• Among families with children aged 0 to 4 years only, just under three-quarters (70%) of parents rated the overall quality of local childcare provision as very or fairly good, in line with 2022 (73%). 
•  There was a fall in the proportion of parents with children aged 0 to 4 years only who felt that the number of local childcare places was ‘about right’, from 47% in 2022 to 42% in 2023. 
• Around a fifth (21%) of parents with children aged 0 to 4 years only reported problems with finding childcare flexible enough to meet their needs, which was a fall from 26% in 2022. 

Paying for childcare

• Since 2021 there has been an increase in the percentage of parents of children aged 0 to 4 years only who are finding it difficult or very difficult to meet their childcare costs. The percentage has from around a quarter in 2021 (24%) to around a third (32%) in 2022, then remained stable at just over a third (34%) in 2023, the highest proportion since 2014. 

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Additional supporting files

All supporting files from this release are listed for individual download below:

Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents 2023 - Accompanying tables (xlsx, 776 Kb)

Tables to accompany the findings from the 2023 Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents

Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents: Compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics (pdf, 62 Kb)

Further detail of how the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents complies with the the Code of Practice for Statistics

This section discusses the use of childcare, both formal and informal childcare and holiday childcare, among families and among children.  The section also comprises reasons for using and for not using childcare, along with views on local childcare provision and how it could be improved. 

Overall use of childcare

Among families.

Families with children aged 0 to 4 only were more likely to use childcare than families with older children.

From Figure 1.1 below:

• Among families with children aged 0 to 4 only, around four in five (81%) had used some form of childcare.  This remains the same as in the 2022 survey.
• Among families with children aged 5 to 14 only, 60% had used some form of childcare.  This is in line with 64% in the 2022 survey.

The longer-term trends in use of childcare among families with children aged 0 to 4 only show that between 2012 and 2019, the percentage of families using any form of childcare remained stable, but from 2021 onwards use began to decline. In 2019, 85% of families with children aged 0 to 4 used some form of childcare, but by 2022 it had declined to 81% and use remained unchanged at 81% in 2023 ( Figure 1.1 ).

Among children

Among children, there were differences in the use of childcare by age of the children, with younger children being more likely to receive childcare compared to their older counterparts. 

From Accompanying Table 1.8 :

• Among children aged 0 to 4, around seven in ten (72%) had received some form of childcare, in line with 2022 (71%). 
• Among children aged 5 to 7, this drops to around two thirds (66%), in line with 2022 (62%) 
• Among children aged 8 to 11, this drops further to over half (53%), in line with 2022 (56%). 
• Among children aged 12 to 14, just over a third (35%) had received some form of childcare, a fall from 44% in 2022.  This is likely to be attributed – at least in part – to the change in the definition of formal childcare described earlier. 

Use of formal childcare

Among families .

Families with children aged 0 to 4 years only were much more likely to use formal childcare than families which only contained children aged 5 to 14 years.  Seven in ten (71%) families containing 0 to 4 year olds only had used formal childcare, unchanged from 2022 ( Figure 1.1 above) but among families with children aged 5 to 14 years only, just under two in five (38%) had used formal childcare, which was fall from 49% in 2022 ( Figure 1.2 above). These findings are likely to be attributed – at least in part - to the change in the definition of formal childcare described earlier.

There were differences in receipt of formal childcare by the age of the children.  Receipt of formal childcare was highest among younger children, being received by a majority (63%) of children aged 0 to 4 years, which is in line with 2022 (62%) ( Figure 1.3 below). This is compared to around a third (32%) of children aged 5 to 14 years ( Accompanying Table 1.8 ).

Among children receiving formal childcare, younger children spent more time in childcare than did their older counterparts.  From Accompanying Table 1.10 :

• Children aged 0 to 4 spent a median of 22.5 hours a week in formal childcare, in line with 24.0 hours a week in 2022. 
• Children aged 5 to 7 spent a median of 18.0 hours a week in formal childcare.
• Children aged 8 to 11 spent a median of 3.0 hours a week in formal childcare. 
• Older children aged 12 to 14 spent a median of 2.5 hours a week in formal childcare (unchanged from 2022). 

Children aged 0 to 4 years received formal childcare from a range of providers, principally day nurseries (23%, in line with 2022, 21%), nursery schools (11%, again in line with 2022, 12%), and reception classes (10%, a fall from 2022, 12%) ( Accompanying Table 1.8 ). Those aged 5 to 11 years most often received formal childcare from after-school clubs (25% for 5-7s, 24% for 8-11s) but also from breakfast clubs (12% for 5-7s and 8% for 8-11s). Older children received the great majority of their formal childcare from after-school clubs (12% among children aged 12 to 14 years) ( Accompanying Table 1.8 ).

Long-term trends in formal childcare use among families with children aged 0 to 4 only, show that formal childcare use has remained stable between 2010 and 2023 with use at around the 69% to 71% mark. However, a slightly different trend in formal childcare use was seen among children aged 0 to 4 years than was seen among families containing children aged 0 to 4 years only. 

Overall, since 2010 there has been a gradual increase in formal childcare use among children aged 0 to 4 years. The proportion of children aged 0 to 4 years that received formal childcare in 2010 to 2011 was 60%, which rose to 64% in 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021 formal childcare use declined to 59%, but since then has risen again to 63% in 2023. 

The characteristics associated with the likelihood of children aged between 0 and 4 years receiving formal childcare included:

• The child’s age: Children aged 3 to 4 years were most likely to receive formal childcare (83% among children aged 3 years, in line with 2022 (81%), and 91% among children aged 4 years, in line with 90% in 2022) ( Accompanying Table 1.8 ).
• The deprivation level of the local area [1]: 74% of children aged 0 to 4 years living in the least deprived areas received formal childcare compared to 57% in the most deprived areas ( Accompanying Table 1.4 ); 
• The family’s (gross) annual income: 74% of children aged between 0 and 4 years in families with an annual gross income of £45,000 or more received formal childcare, compared to 55% of those in families with an annual gross income of under £10,000 ( Accompanying Table 1.4 );

The family structure and work status: 

• 74% of children in dual-working couple families, and 72% of children in working lone-parent families received formal childcare, the most likely to among the family structures ( Accompanying Table 1.4 ).
• 43% of children in couple families with one parent in work, and 48% of children in non-working lone-parent families received formal childcare, the least likely to among the family structures ( Accompanying Table 1.4 ).

[1] The deprivation levels are defined by the Index of Multiple Deprivation in England and are divided into five quintiles ranging from the most deprived (1st quintile) to the least deprived (5th quintile).

Use of informal childcare among children

Informal childcare use varied among the different ages of children. Children aged 0 to 4 years were more likely to receive informal childcare than older children.  From Accompanying Table 1.8, the proportion of children receiving informal childcare was:

• Over a quarter (28%) of children aged 0 to 4, 
• One fifth (21%) of children aged 5 to 7, 
• Over one fifth (23%) of children aged 8 to 11, and 
• 13% of children aged 12 to 14.

All of these proportions were in line with 2022. However they have not returned to pre Covid pandemic levels.

Children aged 0 to 4 received more hours per week in informal childcare than older children ( Accompanying Table 1.10 ): 

• Children aged 0 to 4 spent a median of 10 hours a week in informal childcare. 
• This was twice as long as those aged 5 to 7 and those aged 8 to 11, who each spent a median of 5 hours a week in informal childcare. 
• Older children, aged 12 to 14, spent a median of 4 hours a week in informal childcare. 

The number of hours spent in informal childcare for all children was similar to 2022 ( Accompanying Table 1.10 ):

• 10.0 hours for children aged 0 to 4, compared to 9.5 in 2022 and 
• 5.0 hours for children aged 5 to 14, the same as in 2022. 

Around a quarter of children aged 0 to 4 received informal childcare from grandparents (26%), in line with 2022 (24%). The proportions of older children receiving informal care from grandparents decreased with the age of the children, with just under a fifth (18%) of children aged 5 to 7 receiving this care, falling to 16% for children aged 8 to 11 and 8% for children aged 12 to 14. ( Accompanying Table 1.8 )

Use of holiday childcare among school-age children

All families with children aged 4 to 14 were asked about their use of childcare during the school holidays. Almost two in five (38%) families used any childcare during school holidays, a slight decrease from 2022 (41%). Just over one in five (22%) families used formal childcare during school holidays, unchanged since 2022, and just over one in five (22%) used informal childcare, in line with 2022 (24%) ( Figure 1.6 below).

There were differences in the use of holiday childcare depending on the age of the child. Younger children were more likely to receive childcare during school holidays than older children ( Accompanying Table 7.5 ), with childcare usage at: 

• 31% among children aged 4, 
• 38% among children aged 5 to 7, 
• 31% among children aged 8 to 11, and 
• 24% among children aged 12 to 14. 

This trend is largely due to younger children also being more likely to receive formal childcare during school holidays than older children ( Accompanying Table 7.5 ), with formal childcare usage at:

• 18% among children aged 4, 
• 24% among children aged 5 to 7, 
• 18% among children aged 8 to 11, and
• 11% among children aged 12 to 14.

Receipt of informal childcare during school holidays also varied by children’s age. Younger children were more likely to receive informal childcare during school holidays than older children ( Accompanying Table 7.5 ), with informal childcare usage at:

• 19% among children aged 3 to 4, 
• 23% among children aged 5 to 7, 
• 20% among children aged 8 to 11, and
• 15% for children aged 12 to 14.

Ease/difficulty of arranging holiday childcare

Over half (55%) of parents of school-age children (aged 4 to 14 years) who worked during school holidays said it was easy or very easy to arrange childcare during the holiday periods, in line with 2022 (54%). Almost a third (30%) reported that it was difficult or very difficult to arrange childcare during the school holidays, in line with 2022 (25%) ( Accompanying Table 7.13 ). 

Reasons for using childcare

Parents of children aged 0 to 4 .

For parents of children aged 0 to 4 who received childcare (formal or informal) during term-time ( Accompanying Table 9.7 ):

• Around three quarters (76%) of parents did so for economic reasons (e.g. to enable them to work, to look for work, or to study), an increase from 2022 (73%) .  
• Almost three in five (56%) parents did so for child-related reasons (e.g. for the child’s educational or social development, or because the child likes attending), in line with 2022 (58%). 
• Reasons relating to parental time (e.g. so the parents could conduct domestic activities, socialise, or look after other children) were less common (19%, in line with 18% in 2022).

Parents considered a range of factors when choosing a formal childcare provider for their child aged 0 to 4. The most common factors were convenience (e.g. ease of getting to the provider, flexibility or convenient hours and hours that fitted in with the parent(s) working hours) (60%, in line with 57% in 2022), the provider’s reputation (55%, in line with 53% in 2022), and concerns relating to the kind of care given (also 55%, in line with 52% in 2022) ( Accompanying Table 6.1 ).

Parents of children aged 5 to 14 

Parents of children aged 5 to 14 were most likely to receive childcare for child-related reasons (67%) (in line with 64% in 2022), followed by economic reasons (57%, in line with 56% in 2022), with reasons relating to parental time again being the least common (15%, also in line with 14% in 2022) ( Accompanying Table 10.3 ).

Turning to the factors parents considered when choosing a formal childcare provider for their child aged 5 to 14, the most common reasons were convenience (55%, in line with 51% in 2022), concerns relating to the kind of care given (42%, a rise from 35% in 2022) and the provider’s reputation (38%, a fall from 44% in 2022) ( Accompanying Table 6.1 ).

Reasons for not using childcare

Parents who had not used any childcare in the past year (neither formal nor informal) tended not to do so out of choice, rather than due to constraints. 

Over half (55%) of parents who were not using childcare said this was because they would rather look after their child(ren) themselves (in line with 62% in 2022), and this did not differ by age of the children in the household. Just over one in ten (12%) parents who were not using childcare said it was because they could not afford childcare, a rise from 2022 (10%). (See Table 1.7 below ) 

There were some differences by the age of the children in the family: 

Families containing children aged 0 to 4 only were more likely to say that they hadn’t used childcare because they could not afford it (18%), than families containing children aged 5 to 14 only (11%) (Accompanying Table 5.3).

Families with children aged 0 to 4 only were also more likely to say that they had not used childcare because they couldn’t find a childcare place as local providers were full (6%) than families with children aged 5 to 14 only (1%). 

Changes to local childcare provision 

Parents were asked what changes to local childcare provision, if any, would be most helpful for making it better suited to their needs.

From Table 1.8 below:

• Families that only had children aged 0 to 4 were more likely to want to see changes to childcare provision than parents in families that only had children aged 5 to 14.  Just under two fifths (37%) of parents of children aged 5 to 14 only said that no changes were needed to make childcare better suited to their needs, compared to 28% among parents of children aged 0 to 4 only.   
• Among families that only had children aged 0 to 4, the most frequently mentioned change parents wanted was more affordable childcare (46%, in line with 44% in 2022).  More affordable childcare was also the most frequently cited change among families that only had children aged 5 to 14, although to a lesser extent (29%, in line with 27% in 2022).
• One in six families indicated that they would like more information about what childcare provision is available to them. The proportion of families that only had children aged 0 to 4 that mentioned this was 17% (a fall from 21% in 2022), compared to 16% of families that only had children aged 5 to 14 (unchanged from 2022). 
• A higher percentage of families that only had children aged 0 to 4 also mentioned wanting more flexibility about when childcare is available (16%, a decrease from 19% in 2022) compared to families that only had children aged 5 to 14 (12%, in line with 10% in 2022) and more childcare places in general 22%, (in line with 20% in 2022) compared to 12% (in line with 2022, 11%) among families that only had children aged 5 to 14.
• There was a difference among families about availability of childcare during school holidays with families that only had older children (those aged 5 to 14) more likely to mention this than families containing only 0 to 4 year olds: 18% for families that only had children aged 0 to 4 (unchanged from 2022) and 25% for families that only had children aged 5 to 14 (a rise from 20% in 2022). 

Times where parents would like childcare provision improving in order to meet their needs

Parents were most keen to see improvements to local childcare provision in the summer holidays and families that only had children aged 5 to 14 were more likely to say this than families that only had children aged 0 to 4 (71%, compared to 45%).  Families also wanted to see improvements in local provision during half-term, and families that only had children aged 5 to 14 were also more likely to say this than families that only had children aged 0 to 4 (38% compared to 29%). All of these figures are in line with 2022 ( Accompanying Table 5.25 ). 

Receipt of the entitlement to government funded childcare or early education

This section describes the awareness and receipt of government funded childcare in early education and is based only on parents of children aged 0 to 4 years old. 

Policy background on childcare or early education in England

Entitlements.

All 3 and 4 year olds in England are entitled to a defined number of hours of free childcare or early education. Some 2 year olds are also eligible to access a defined number of hours of free childcare or early education - for example if their parent or guardian receives certain benefits, or they have a statement of special educational needs [1].

15 hours entitlement 

All 3 and 4 year olds, and eligible 2 year olds, are entitled to 570 hours of funded early education or childcare per year. This is usually taken as 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year.

30 hours entitlement  

Since September 2017, the funded childcare entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds increased to 30 hours a week for working parents that meet the eligibility criteria. Parents can usually get 30 hours of funded childcare if they (and their partner, if they have one) are in work (or getting parental leave, sick leave or annual leave), and are earning at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week. Parents can also receive 30 hours free childcare if they are claiming Universal Credit, tax credits, childcare vouchers or Tax-Free Childcare.  

New childcare entitlements

On 15 March 2023, plans were announced that from April 2024 new childcare entitlements for children aged 9 months to 3 years with eligible working parents would start to be rolled out in stages, as follows:

 i) From April 2024, working parents of children aged between 24 months and 36 months were able to get 15 hours funded childcare per week during term time. 

 ii) From September 2024, this will be extended to include working parents of younger children, so children aged between 9 months and 24 months will also be eligible for 15 hours of funded childcare per week during term time.

 iii) By September 2025, all children of working parents aged between 9 months and 36 months will be eligible for an extra 15 hours of funded childcare per week, bringing the total number of funded hours of childcare to 30 hours per week. These funded hours will be available to working families where each parent works and earns the equivalent of 16 hours per week at the National Minimum Wage. To be eligible, each parent must earn below £100,000 per year.

[1]  For more information on the eligibility criteria see https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for2-to-4-year-olds (opens in a new tab)

Awareness and use of 15 hours of childcare or early education

Over nine in ten (93%) parents with a child aged 0 to 4 were aware of the universal 15 hours offer available for 3 and 4 year olds, a rise from 91% in 2022 ( Accompanying Table 2.2 ). Awareness levels varied by annual family income: parents earning £45,000 or more per year were most likely to be aware of the scheme (97%), while those earning under £10,000 per year were least likely to be aware (74%) ( Table 2.1 below).

Among parents with a child aged 2, around four in five (79%) in 2023 were aware that certain 2 year olds were eligible for some free hours of childcare each week, unchanged from 2022 ( Table 2.2 below). There was no difference in awareness of the free hours for 2 year olds by annual family income.

Official statistics from the DfE’s Early Years Census and Schools Census show that in January 2023, an estimated 94% of 3-4 year olds and 74% of eligible 2 year olds benefitted from funded childcare or early education [1].

In 2023, nine in ten (90%) parents using the universal 15 hours offer available for 3 and 4 year olds were satisfied with the way they could use the hours for their child, a fall from 2022 (94%).  Almost nine in ten (89%) parents using the 2 year old offer were satisfied with the way they were able to use the hours for their child, in line with 2022 (94%). ( Accompanying Table 2.8 )

[1] https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-provision-children-under-5 The Department for Education’s Early Years Census and Schools Census are the official take up figures for funded childcare and early education, so are presented here.

Awareness and understanding of the forthcoming 30 hours offer

Fieldwork for the 2023 survey took place between May 2023 and February 2024, prior to the expansion of the 30 hours offer for younger children with working parents, which was due to be rolled out in stages from April 2024. Parents were asked about their awareness of this forthcoming offer during the 2023 survey.

Among parents with a child aged 0 to 2, around three in five (61%) were aware of the forthcoming offer of up to 30 hours of free childcare a week for children from nine months old with working parents ( Table 2.3 below). 

Awareness varied by family working status, with awareness lower in households ineligible for the scheme (32% among couple households with neither parent in work, rising to 74% among dual-working couple households). Awareness also varied by annual family income (32% among those earning under £10,000, rising to 76% of those earning £45,000 or more per year) ( Table 2.3 below). There was no difference in awareness of the forthcoming 30 hours offer for younger children with working parents by the age of the children in the family.

Awareness and understanding of the existing 30 hours offer

Among parents with a child aged 0 to 4, over four in five (86%) were aware of the current 30 hours offer for children aged 3 to 4 with working parents, a rise from 2022 (82%) ( Accompanying Table 3.1 ).

Awareness varied by family working status, with awareness lower in households ineligible for the scheme (73% among couple households with neither parent in work, rising to 91% among dual-working couple households). Awareness levels also varied by annual family income (66% among those earning under £10,000, rising to 93% of those earning £45,000 or more per year) ( Table 2.4 below). 

Awareness also varied by the age of the children in the household: among families with a child aged 0 to 2 (but no child aged 3 to 4) 80% were aware, while among families with a child aged 3 to 4 years (but no child aged 0 to 2 years) 90% were aware ( Accompanying Table 3.9 ).

Parents who were aware of the 30 hours were asked if they knew that providers could charge for extra services, such as meals, consumables, and special lessons or activities. Over four in five (85%) parents knew this to be the case ( Accompanying Table 3.13 ), in line with 2022 (84%).  Among parents who were aware that providers can charge for certain extra services, most (75%) were aware that parents can choose not to receive, or pay, for these services ( Accompanying Table 3.14 ), in line with 2022 (73%).

Take-up of the existing 30 hours offer

Official statistics from the DfE’s Early Years Census and Schools Census show that in January 2023, 363,000 children aged 3 to 4 benefitted from the 30-hour entitlement, or approximately four in every five eligible children. [1]

Over nine in ten (92%) parents using the 30 hours offer were satisfied with the way they were able to use the hours for their child ( Accompanying Table 2.8 ), in line with 2022 (93%).

Reasons for not applying

Among working parents with a 3 or 4 year-old who had not applied for the 30 hours and were not intending to apply, the most common reason for not applying was that they did not think they were eligible (67%).  31% of parents had not applied because of a reason unrelated to eligibility, including that their child had started school (12%), that they did not need any more hours of childcare (6%), that they would rather look after their child themselves (4%) and that they would prefer family/friends to look after their child(ren) (4%). ( Accompanying Table 3.10 ) 

Likelihood to find paid work

Around three in five (61%) non-working parents with a child aged 0 to 4 years, who were not receiving or registered for the 30 hours, felt it was likely they would try to find paid work to become eligible for the 30 hours, in line with 2022 (62%). Among parents whose partner was not in work, and who were not already receiving or registered for the 30 hours, just over half (52%) thought it likely that their partner would try and find paid work to become eligible for the 30 hours, an increase from 2022 (42%). ( Accompanying Table 3.2 )

Where and how easy it was for children to receive their hours

Almost all children receiving government funded hours (whether under the 2 year old offer, the 15 hours offer, or the 30 hours offer) received their hours from a single childcare provider (96%), with the remainder receiving their hours from two or more providers ( Accompanying Table 3.12 ). These proportions are in line with 2022 (95%).

Among children receiving government funded hours from their main formal provider, around nine in ten (89%) were attending their parents’ first choice of provider ( Accompanying Table 2.12 ), in line with 2022 (87%). For most (87%) children receiving government funded hours from their main formal provider, their parents had found it easy or very easy to get a place at the provider ( Accompanying Table 2.14 ), in line with 2022 (86%).

[1] https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-provision-children-under-5  

Perceived impacts of the existing 30 hours offer

Parents using the 30 hours were asked some questions to gauge the perceived impact of the hours on their work, their family finances and the overall quality of their family life.  

Changes in working hours

Around two in five (41%) parents, said that in the absence of the 30 hours they would be working fewer hours, unchanged from 2022. Over two in five (46%) parents said that if the 30 hours were not available to them, they would still work the same number of hours ( Table 2.5 below), in line with 43% in 2022. Five per cent of parents thought they would be working more hours were the 30 hours not available to them, in line with from 8% in 2022, and 8% thought they would not be working were the 30 hours not available to them, in line with 2022 (9%). There were no differences by family type in the proportion of parents who said they would work fewer hours. 

Improvements in family finances and quality of life

Most parents felt the 30 hours had improved both their family finances and the overall quality of their family life. Almost three in four (70%) parents reported that the 30 hours had improved their family finances (in line with 2022, 74%), with 46% saying they had ‘slightly more money’ to spend than before, and 24% saying they had ‘much more money’ to spend than before ( Accompanying Table 3.5 ).

Over four in five (86%) parents reported that the overall quality of their family life was better, compared with before they took up the 30 hours. This is higher than the 81% of parents who reported the same in 2018, when this impact was last assessed. ( Accompanying Table 3.7 )

In 2023, parents in couple households were more likely than lone parents to report that the overall quality of their family life was better since taking up the 30 hours offer (88% and 75% respectively). The opposite was found in 2018 when lone parents were more likely to report this than couple households (83% compared to 80%) ( Accompanying Table 3.7 ).

This section first describes the weekly cost of childcare for families and per child, and perceptions around the cost of childcare. The second part of this section focusses on financial help with childcare costs, the impact of any government funded and employer provided childcare support, and awareness and use of tax-free childcare.   

Weekly cost of childcare

The overall median weekly amount paid by families (of children aged 0 to 14) to childcare providers (including both formal and informal providers) was £33.00 ( Accompanying Table 4.5 ), in line with 2022 (£30.00). The amount paid varied depending on the number of hours of childcare used across all children in the household, and the types of providers used. Costs statistics are subject to a number of caveats, as described in the Technical Report.

Among families that only had children aged 0 to 4, the overall median weekly amount paid by families to childcare providers was £100.00, in line with 2022 (£90.00). This was higher than for families that only had children aged 5 to 14, who paid a weekly median of £24.00, in line with 2022 (£21.00).

Turning to child-level (rather than family-level) payments, the overall median weekly amount paid to formal childcare providers was £28.53 ( Accompanying Table 4.6 ), a rise from 2022 (£20.98). Child-level payments are influenced by the total number of hours children spend in formal childcare, the age of the child as well as the types of providers used. As such, any changes in payments over survey years do not necessarily reflect changes in the fees and charges levied by childcare providers.

The overall median weekly amount paid to formal childcare providers was highest for children aged 0 to 4 (£70.00), with the payments for children aged 5 to 14 being considerably lower (£20.00). All payments were in line with those from 2022 (£65.24 for children aged 0 to 4, and £14.50 for children aged 5 to 14). 

Perceptions around the cost of childcare

Perceptions of affordability.

Around two in five (41%) parents overall rated the affordability of local childcare as very or fairly good, in line with 39% in 2022 ( Figure 3.1 below). Around a third (32%) of parents rated the affordability of local childcare as very or fairly poor, a fall from 37% in 2022 ( Accompanying Table 5.1 ).

Families that only had children aged 0 to 4

Among families that only had children aged 0 to 4, two in five (40%) parents rated the affordability of local childcare as very or fairly good, in line with 2022 (41%). Just over two in five (42%) of these parents rated the affordability of local childcare as very or fairly poor, unchanged from 2022. ( Accompanying Table 5.2 )

Families that only had children aged 5 to 14

Among families that only had children aged 5 to 14 years only, two in five (40%) parents rated the affordability of local childcare as very or fairly good, in line with 2022 (37%). Under a third (29%) of parents rated the affordability of local childcare as very or fairly poor, a fall from 34% in 2022. ( Accompanying Table 5.2 )

Perceptions around the ease of paying for childcare

Just under half (49%) of parents who paid for childcare said it was easy or very easy to meet their childcare costs ( Accompanying Table 4.3 ), in line with 47% in 2022. One in four (25%) found it difficult or very difficult to meet their childcare costs, in line with 24% in 2022 ( Figure 3.2 below).

Difficulty in meeting childcare costs varied by annual family income. Only 18% families earning £45,000 or more per year found it difficult or very difficult to meet their childcare costs, which was in line with 17% in 2022. However, 52% of families earning £10,000 to £19,999 per year found it difficult or very difficult to meet their childcare costs (up from 36% in 2022). ( Accompanying Table 4.3 )

Among families that only had children aged 0 to 4 years only, under two in five (37%) parents who paid for childcare said it was easy or very easy to meet their childcare costs, unchanged from 2022. Around a third (34%) found it difficult or very difficult to meet their childcare costs, in line with 32% in 2022. ( Accompanying Table 4.3 )

Compared to families that only had children aged 0 to 4, a higher percentage (56% or over half) of those that only had children aged 5 to 14 who paid for childcare said it was easy or very easy to meet their childcare costs, which was in line with 53% in 2022. Consequently, a lower percentage (20%) of these families found it difficult or very difficult to meet their childcare costs, in line with 17% in 2022. ( Accompanying Table 4.3 )

Financial help with childcare costs

Parents were asked whether they received any financial help towards childcare costs for any children in the household. This covered a variety of sources, including an employer (via childcare vouchers, direct payments to providers, or provision at the parent’s place of work), the entitlement to government funded childcare / early education via their Local Education Authority (LEA), and an ex-partner but excluded any funded hours of childcare that parents may have been entitled to.

Among families who used formal childcare in the reference week, 11% reported that they received financial assistance from at least one external source (Accompanying Table 4.10), in line with 12% in 2022. 

Parents were most likely to receive support from their LEA (6%, in line with 2022, 5%) and from their employer (4%, in line with 2022, 5%). The LEA figures are a lower percentage than would be expected as participants may not be aware that the free hours are coming from the local authority, but think instead they are coming directly from HMRC, therefore are not reporting free hours here when they do receive them.

Families with children aged 0 to 4 years only were more likely to receive financial support than families with older children (aged 5 to 14 years only). Among families with children aged 0 to 4 years only, 14% received some financial help, in line with 15% in 2022. Parents in these families were most likely to receive help from their LEA (11%, unchanged from 2022), followed by their employer (2%, in line with 3% in 2022).

Among families with older children aged 5 to 14 years only, 8% received some financial help, in line with 9% in 2022. Parents in these families were less likely to receive help from their LEA than families with children aged 0 to 4 years only (1% of families with children aged 5 to 14 years only received help from their LEA), and they were more likely to receive help from their employer than families containing children aged 0 to 4 years only (5% compared to 2% of families with children aged 0 to 4 years only) (Accompanying Table 4.10).

Impact of government-funded and employer-provided support

Parents in work and receiving one or more forms of government-funded or employer-provided support were asked what impact, if any, this support had had on their (and on their partner’s) job. The forms of support were: Government funded hours of childcare under the 15 or 30 hours offers; Tax-Free Childcare; Working Tax Credit and/or Child Tax Credit; employer-provided childcare vouchers; direct payments to a childcare provider made by an employer; and a childcare provider located at the parent or partner’s place of work.

Parents were most likely to say that the support they received had enabled them to stay in work (33%, in line with 31% in 2022), maintain their working hours (18%, unchanged from 2022), or increase their working hours (16%, also unchanged from 2022) (Accompanying Table 4.17). Four per cent of parents said the support had led them to decrease their working hours, in line with 2022 (3%).

There were some differences by the age of the children in the family about what impact the financial support had had. Families containing younger children (aged 0 to 4 years only) were more likely to say that the support they received enabled them to stay in work (34%, in line with 37% in 2022 compared to 31% among families with children aged 5 to 14 years only, in line with 2022, 27%).  Families with 0 to 4 year olds were also more likely than families with older children to say that the support had led them to increase their working hours, 20% (in line with 2022, 18%), compared to 11% of families with children aged 5 to 14 years only (in line with 13% in 2022) (Accompanying Table 4.17).  

Turning to the impact the support had on partners within all families, the support was most likely to have enabled them to stay in work (22%, unchanged from 2022), maintain their working hours (14%, in line with 15% in 2022), or increase their working hours (9%, in line with 10% in 2022) (Accompanying Table 4.18).

Tax-Free Childcare

Half (50%) of parents with a child aged under 12 were aware of the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, a rise since 2022 (48%) (Accompanying Table 5.29).  By family work status, dual-working couple families were most likely to be aware of the scheme (61%, a rise since 2022, 56%), followed by working lone parent families (49%, in line with 45% in 2022). Couple families with neither parent in work were least likely to be aware (28%, in line with 25% in 2022).

Among parents with a child aged under 12 who had not applied for the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, 20% said they would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ apply for it in the future, a decrease from 2022 (23%) (Accompanying Table 5.31). For those who did not intend to apply for Tax-Free Childcare in the future, the main reasons were because they did not use formal childcare (22%), because they claimed Universal Credit (20%), because they thought they (or their partner’s) income was too high (13%), or because they (or their partner) were not working (10%) (Accompanying Table 5.32).

Among families with children aged 0 to 4 years only, over three in five (61%) parents were aware of the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, in line with 58% in 2022, and these families were also more likely to be aware of the scheme than parents with children aged 5 to 14 years only (where 45% were aware, in line with 2022, 41%) (Accompanying Table 5.29). Also, a higher percentage of families with children aged 0 to 4 years only, than families with children aged 5 to 14 years only, who had not applied to the scheme yet said that they intended to apply for Tax-Free Childcare (33%) compared to 15% among families with children aged 5 to 14 years only (Accompanying Table 5.31). 

This section explores the perceptions of the quality, availability and flexibility of local childcare provision, as well as the availability of information about local childcare. 

Perceptions of quality

Among families with children aged 0 to 4 years only, more than two thirds  (70%) of parents rated the overall quality of local childcare provision as very or fairly good, in line with 2022 (73%). Seven per cent rated it as very or fairly poor, in line with 2022 (6%) (Accompanying Table 5.2). 

Among families with children aged 5 to 14 years only, three in five (60%) parents rated the overall quality of local childcare provision as very or fairly good, in line with 2022 (61%). Just under one in ten (8%) rated it as very or fairly poor, in line with 2022 (9%). 

A lower percentage of families with children aged 5 to 14 years, than parents with children aged 0 to 4 years only, rated the quality of local childcare provision as very or fairly good, this could in part be attributed to the  higher percentage of families with children aged 5 to 14 years saying they were not sure about the quality of childcare (31% compared to 22% among families with children aged 0 to 4 years only) (Accompanying Table 5.2). 

Turning to the factors parents considered important in high quality childcare and early years education for their child aged 0 to 4 years, the most important factor was activities that encourage the child to socialise with other children (57%), in line with 2022 (59%), each staff member only having a small number of children to look after (47%) in line with 2022 (46%) and receiving regular feedback on their child’s progress (35%) in line with 2022, 33% (Accompanying Table 5.15). 

Parents were also asked what they considered important in high quality childcare and out of school activities for their child aged 5 to 14 years. The most important factor was activities that encourage the child to socialise with other children (53%), the childcare or activity being affordable (32%) and having staff that are qualified for their role (31%) (Accompanying Table 5.33). 

Perceptions of availability and flexibility

Around two in five parents overall (38%) felt the number of local childcare places was ‘about right’ (in line with 41% in 2022), while 35% said there were not enough places (in line with 33% in 2022) (Accompanying Table 5.1). Around a fifth (21%) of parents reported problems with finding childcare flexible enough to meet their needs, a fall from a quarter (25%) in 2022 (Accompanying Table 5.24).

Among families with a parent in work (couple families with one or both parents in work, and working lone-parent families), under half (46%) felt that they were able to find term-time childcare that fitted in with their (and/or their partner’s) working hours, in line with 2022 (49%) (Accompanying Table 5.24).

Among families with children aged 0 to 4 years only, just over two in five (42%) parents felt the number of local childcare places was ‘about right’ (a fall from 47% in 2022), while over a third (37%) said there were not enough places (in line with 34% in 2022) (Accompanying Table 5.2). 

Among families with children aged 5 to 14 years only, over a third (36%) of parents felt the number of local childcare places was ‘about right’ (in line with 38% in 2022), while 34% said there were not enough places (in line with 32% in 2022). 

Some of the differences on perceptions of availability between the families with younger and older children could be because parents of children aged 5 to 14 years only were more likely to say they were not sure about availability of local childcare provision (29% compared to 20% of families with children aged 0 to 4 years only).  

Around a fifth (21%) of parents with children aged 0 to 4 years only reported problems with finding childcare flexible enough to meet their needs, a fall from 26% in 2022, whilst a fifth (20%) of parents with children aged 5 to 14 years only reported this, in line with 2022 (23%) (Accompanying Table 5.24).

Information about childcare

Just over two in five (42%) parents overall said the information available to them about childcare in their local area was ‘about right’ (unchanged from 2022). Around a third (34%) thought there was ‘too little’ information (also unchanged from 2022), while 2% felt there was too much information (a fall from 4% in 2022) (Accompanying Table 5.1). A further 22% of parents were unsure (in line with 21% in 2022).

A lower percentage of parents in families with children aged 5 to 14 years only said that the information available to them about childcare in their local area was ‘about right’ (40%) (unchanged from 2022), compared to 44% among parents in families with children aged 0 to 4 years only, (in line with 45% in 2022).  However, the proportion of parents saying the amount of information available was ‘too little’ did not vary by the ages of children in the household.  Over a third of families with children aged 0 to 4 years only (36%, in line with 35% in 2022) thought there was ‘too little’ information, which is comparable to 33% of families with children aged 5 to 14 years only (unchanged from 2022) (Accompanying Table 5.2).

Parents in families with children aged 5 to 14 years only were more likely to say they were unsure about the amount of information available (25% compared to 18% among parents in families with children aged 0 to 4 years only), which may account for a lower percentage of parents with children in this age group saying that the amount of information was ‘about right’. 

The home learning environment

This section discusses the frequency of learning within the home environment among children aged 0 to 5 years. 

Frequency of home learning and play activities

The home learning activity most frequently carried out with children aged 0 to 5 years was looking at books or reading, with just over three in five (62%) parents reporting that someone at home does this activity at least once a day with their child (Accompanying Table 6.6), unchanged from 2022.

The next most frequently conducted home learning activities were learning songs, poems or nursery rhymes (52% of parents reported that someone at home does this at least once a day with their child, in line with 51% in 2022) (Accompanying Table 6.10), and learning numbers or to count (51% of parents also reported that someone at home does this at least once a day with their child, in line with 52% in 2022) (Accompanying Table 6.9).

Information about home learning and play activities

Parents were asked where they get information and ideas about learning and play activities they can do with their child. Parents were most likely to get information from friends or relatives (60%), social media sites (49%), other parents (39%) and children’s television programmes (34%) and internet sites (33%) (Accompanying Table 6.19).

Awareness of, access to and services used at Family Hubs and Children’s Centres

Parents were asked if they were aware of a family hub, children’s centre, a children and family centre or a family centre, in their local area. For succinctness, we refer to these sites as ‘family hubs or children’s centres’ in the text that follows.Half (50%) of parents with a child aged 0 to 14 years were aware of a family hub or children’s centre in their local area.  Awareness varied by the age of the children in the household. Among families with children aged 0 to 4 years only, 56% were aware, compared to 45% among families with children aged 5 to 14 years only (Accompanying Table 6.13).

Amongst the families who were aware of a family hub or children’s centre in their local area, 19% had accessed one or more services from any of these sites in the last year.  Higher proportions of families with children aged 0 to 4 years only (41%) reported accessing a service compared to families with children aged 5 to 14 years only (8%) (Accompanying Table 6.13).

Those that had accessed any services through a family hub or children’s centre in their local area were asked which services or sources of help or support they had accessed in the last year.  Support with early years education was accessed the most (58%) followed by midwifery, maternity or child health services (40%) (Accompanying Table 6.14). 

The following section focusses on mother’s work patterns and which factors influenced them to go out to work. 

Levels of work among mothers

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of mothers overall reported that they were in work ( Accompanying Table 8.5 ), in line with 73% in 2022. In 2023 the proportion of mothers working full-time was 39% and the proportion of mothers working part-time was 33%, both of which were in line with the proportions in 2022 (41% of mothers were working full time in 2022, whilst 32% were working part-time in 2022) ( Accompanying Table 7.16 ).

Just under half (48%) of non-working mothers said that if they could arrange good quality childcare that was convenient, reliable and affordable, they would prefer to go out to work ( Accompanying Table 8.12 ), in line with 2022 (49%).

Among families with children aged 0 to 4 years only, around seven in ten (69%) mothers reported that they were in work ( Accompanying Table 7.16 ), in line with 72% in 2022. The proportion of mothers working full-time or part-time remained the same in 2023 as in 2022, 37% in 2023 and 38% in 2022 were working full-time whilst 32% in 2023 and 34% in 2022 were working part-time.

Among families with children aged 5 to 14 years only, almost three quarters (74%) of mothers reported that they were in work, in line with 2022 (77%). There was a decrease in the proportion of mothers working full-time with children aged 5 to 14 years only to 41% in 2023 from 46% in 2022, but the proportion of mothers working part time was in line between the survey years (32% in 2023 and 31% in 2022) ( Accompanying Table 7.16 ). 

Over half (54%) of non-working mothers in families with children aged 0 to 4 years only said that if they could arrange good quality childcare that was convenient, reliable and affordable, they would prefer to go out to work ( Accompanying Table 8.12 ), unchanged from 2022. However, a lower percentage of non-working mothers in families with children aged 5 to 14 years only, than non-working mothers in families with children aged 0 to 4 years only, said that if they could arrange good quality childcare that was convenient, reliable and affordable, they would prefer to go out to work, just over two in five (42%), in line with 2022 (43%).

In terms of longer-term trends in mother’s work patterns, there has been an increase in the percentage of mothers working full-time since 2010 to 2011 across all families ( Accompanying Table 7.16 ).  In 2011, 25% of all mothers were working full-time and by 2022 this had almost doubled to 41%. In 2023, the proportion remained stable with 39% of all mothers working full-time.  Among mothers with children aged 0 to 4 years only there was a greater increase in full-time working over the time period, compared to mothers with children aged 5 to 14 years only. In 2010 to 2011 21% of mothers with children aged 0 to 4 years were working full-time, but by 2023 this had increased sixteen percentage points to 37%, whereas among mothers with children aged 5 to 14 years only 31% worked full time in 2010 to 2011 and by 2023 this had increased ten percentage points to 41%. 

The increase in full-time working was accompanied by a decrease in the proportions working part-time or not working at all.  In 2010 to 2011, 38% of mothers were working part-time and 37% of mothers were not working, by 2023 this has decreased to 33% working part-time and 28% not working.  The decrease in part-time working and non-working was apparent among all mothers regardless of the age of their children, however there were differences in the trend by the age of the children in the family. There was a greater decrease in part-time working among mothers of children aged 5 to 14 years compared to mothers of children aged 0 to 4 years.  In 2010 to 2011, 40% of mothers with children aged 5 to 14 years were in part-time work and by 2023 this had decreased to 32%, whereas among mothers of 0 to 4 year olds only, 38% were working part-time in 2010 to 2011 which decreased to 32% in 2023.  Conversely, there was a greater decrease in mothers not working among mothers with children aged 0 to 4 years only than among mothers of older children.  In 2010 to 2011, 41% of mothers of children aged 0 to 4 years were not working, by 2023 this had decreased to 31%, during the same period mothers of children aged 5 to 14 years not working had decreased from 30% in 2010 to 2011 to 26% in 2023 ( Accompanying Table 7.16 ). 

Factors influencing going out to work

Among mothers who had entered the workforce in the past two years, the most common reasons for starting work were wanting financial independence (20%), finding a job that enabled them to combine work with their child(ren) (18%), their financial situation (15%) and their child(ren) starting school (13%) ( Accompanying Table 8.8 ). Five per cent of all mothers said they entered the workforce to become eligible for the 30 hours offer of free childcare for children aged 3 to 4 years with working parents.

Mothers who had transitioned from part-time to full-time work in the previous two years most commonly did so because of their financial situation (23%), because their child(ren) started school (23%), because a job opportunity or promotion arose (16%) and because their children were old enough to use childcare (13%) ( Accompanying Table 8.9 ). Nine per cent of parents said they made this change to become eligible for the 30 hours offer of free childcare for children aged 3 to 4 years with working parents.

Working mothers were asked what childcare arrangements, if any, helped them to work. Parents in families with children aged 0 to 4 years only were the most likely to mention having reliable childcare (66%, a rise from 60% in 2022), falling to 30% among those in families with children aged 5 to 14 years only, in line with 2022, 29%. Parents in families with children aged 0 to 4 years only were also the most likely to mention having relatives who could help with childcare (48% a rise from 42% in 2022), compared to 32% among those in families with children aged 5 to 14 years only, (in line with 34% in 2022) ( Accompanying Table 8.3 ).

Among working mothers in families with children aged 0 to 4 only:

• The proportion that mentioned that the free hours of childcare for 3 and 4 year olds (under the 30 free hours scheme) helped them to work was 23% (a rise from 19% in 2022). 
• The proportion that mentioned that the free hours of childcare for 3 and 4 year olds (under the 15 free hours scheme) helped them to work was 8% (unchanged from 2022) ( Accompanying Table 8.3 ).

Changes in employment patterns

Among mothers working part-time, around half (49%) said that even if there were no barriers to doing so, they would not increase their working hours or work full-time (Accompanying Table 8.1), in line with 51% in 2022. Among families with children aged 0 to 4 years only this proportion stood at 51% in line with 55% in 2022.  Among families with children aged 5 to 14 years only this proportion also stood at 48%, in line with 2022 (51%).

Over a third (36%) of mothers working part-time said that, in the absence of any barriers, they would continue to work part-time but would increase their working hours, unchanged from 2022.  Under one in six (15%) mothers working part-time said that, in the absence of any barriers, they would move into full-time work, in line with 12% in 2022.

Mothers in lone parent households were more likely than those in couple households to express a desire to move from part-time to full-time work (19% compared to 13% respectively). 

By annual family income, those at the lower end of the income distribution were most likely to express a desire to move from part-time to full-time work (26% among those earning under £10,000, and 23% among those earning between £10,000 and £20,000, falling to 11% among those earning £45,000 or more). And in terms of the desire to increase working hours while continuing to work part-time, this was highest among those earning £10,000 – £19,999 (51%) but was lower among those earning £45,000 or more (31%) (Accompanying Table 8.1).

Childcare changes needed to better suit work needs

Parents were asked what changes to term time childcare provision were needed to make it better suited to their work needs. Among families with child(ren) aged 5 to 14 years, where the parent was working part-time, was unemployed, or was looking after the home and family, two in five (41%) felt that changes to term time provision after school rather than before school or in the evenings and/or at the weekend would suit their work needs the best. Furthermore, around one in five (18%) felt that more affordable childcare after school at their child's school would suit their work needs the best closely followed by 17% who felt that more childcare places e.g. at after school clubs at their child(ren)'s school would help (Accompanying Table 1.16). 

Almost two fifths of parents (39%) said that none of the changes to term time childcare provision would make it better suited to their work needs, specifically because they did not want to work more or look for more work. A further 13% indicated that, in general, none of the changes that they were asked about would make term time childcare provision better suited to their work needs.

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Methodology.

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

Official statistics

These are Official Statistics and have been produced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics .

This can be broadly interpreted to mean that these statistics are:

• managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
• meet identified user needs
• produced according to sound methods
• well explained and readily accessible

Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance .

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing [email protected] or via the OSR website .

If you have a specific enquiry about Childcare and early years survey of parents statistics and data:

Early Years Analysis and Research

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Book your open day, get info and updates, ba (hons) early childhood education, book an open day, key information, typical offer:, fees: see below, ucas code: x310, institute code: h36, study abroad option, work placement option, clearing entry requirements.

We’re committed to welcoming students with a wide range of qualifications and levels of experience. Over Clearing, we’ll be taking a flexible approach so if you don’t have the advertised grades, you can submit a  clearing application and we’ll review and consider your application on an individual basis.

Additional requirements

GCSE : Grade 4/C in English Language and Mathematics.

Accepted T Levels: Design Survey and Planning for Construction; Design Production, Design and Development; Education and Childcare; Healthcare Science; Health; Science; Digital Support Services; Digital Business Services; Onsite Construction; Building Services Engineering for Construction; Accounting; Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing; Engineering, Manufacturing, Processing and Control; Finance; Maintenance, Installation and Repair for Engineering and Manufacturing; Management and Administration; Agriculture, Land Management and Production; Legal Services.

All students from non-majority English speaking countries require proof of English language proficiency, equivalent to an overall IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each band.

If you do not have the required IELTS or equivalent for direct entry on to your degree programme, our  Pre-sessional English and International Foundation courses can help you to achieve this level.

For more details on the University of Hertfordshire's entry requirements, please visit our  Undergraduate Entry Requirements page.

Find out more about  International Entry Requirements .

The programme has membership of the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Networks (ECSDN) which provides CPD and opportunities for student publication.

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Why choose this course?

• Ranked 11th for Education in the 2022 Guardian University Guide
• Improve your employability through work-based learning
• 99% satisfaction for Teaching On My Course, 2024 NSS (based on the average of Q1-4)

If you want to truly make a difference to young children, future generations and transform communities in a very rewarding field then the BA (Hons) Early Childhood Education programme is a course you would want to pursue. The course enables you to be hands on in creative ways thereby allowing you to take part in shaping the Early Childhood Education curriculum. If you are searching for a career that is in high demand, with opportunities now and in the future, then this is a viable course for you. This course will help you become a confident, independent, critical thinker, a skilled learner, a pedagogical leader and a self-aware professional. Most importantly, the BA (Hons) Early Childhood Education qualification is accepted as 'full and relevant' by the Department for Education (DfE) Early Years Qualification List (EYQL) which allows you to work in an early years setting or to count in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) staff:child ratios.

Gain practical experience 

Each year of the study programme (year 1, 2 and 3) is characterised by placement and all modules are designed to help you develop professional skills through placement-related tasks and assessments which will broaden your employability opportunities. The exciting thing about this programme is that you can undertake placement in a wide range of contexts, such as, day nurseries, pre-schools, special schools, children’s centres or family support organisations.

Pick the path that’s right for you 

The BA (Hons) Early Childhood Education programme is offered in full-time (3years) and part-time (6 years) routes. Entry is normally at level 4, but it is possible at level 6 with suitable qualifications (e.g., a relevant foundation degree). What this means is that the degree is suitable for prospective students who have just completed their Level 3 studies and early childhood practitioners who want to increase their qualifications. If you’re passionate about improving early childhood education, then we’ve got this flexible programme of study that’s right for you. New intake normally takes place in September.

The programme offers you an opportunity to apply knowledge in practice through placement in all three years. It offers you an opportunity to understand and critically evaluate a range of theoretical and practice-based knowledge and skills that are both specific to the early childhood sector and relevant in many other professions. This will support you in your future career and enable you to stand out from other candidates when seeking employment.

In addition, the programme allows you to acquire the BA (Hons) Early Childhood Education with Study Abroad in your second year. Great news! Funding is available if you choose to Study Abroad in your second year, from The Turing Scheme which is the UK government’s scheme to provide funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world. It supports Global Britain by providing an opportunity for UK organisations from higher education, further education, vocational education and training and schools sectors to offer their students, learners and pupils life-changing experiences to study or work abroad. Do not miss out on such an exciting opportunity!

Learn from experts 

You’ll learn from experienced and well qualified lecturers who have worked in various early childhood settings for many years. For instance, our lecturing staff come from a variety of professions, including primary teaching, children centre management, health visiting and nursing.  With so much experience to learn from, you’ll gain a unique and valuable insight into your chosen career. Our expert teaching team are committed to delivering an innovative education experience and in the 2022 National Student Survey (NSS) 94% of students agreed that staff value their views and opinions about the course.

What's the course about?

In your  first year , You will begin to understand how your own educational experiences influence your growing knowledge of early childhood practice and engage with critical theorists and expert practitioners in the fields of education, care and family support. We’ll equip you with knowledge and skills of promoting children’s well-being in the 21st Century and working with young children for them to explore their identity, values and voice. You will be equipped with knowledge and skills on how to support children’s play, learning and development. The first year will also enable you to explore the child’s world through engagement with family, culture and community. You will visit early childhood settings for placement to observe the curriculum in practice for 25 days.

In your second year , you will build a robust, critical understanding of knowledge and skills required to support children’s learning and development in a range of practice settings. We will teach you how to develop identity, values and voice in practice and various ways to empower children from the early years. This is the time when you could study abroad and gain an international perspective about working with young children. The second year of your study is also essential in that it will enable you to celebrate differences in children regarding inclusion and diversity in Early Childhood Practice. We will teach you how to enable children’s play and explore approaches to the curriculum during placement. You’ll design stimulating learning environments and observe children as they play and learn. What do you notice? You will gain the skills and knowledge to design effective interventions. We will teach you how chronic illness, special educational needs and disability can affect how a child develops. You will question your assumptions and theories. You will see every challenge as a chance to think creatively. By the end of this year, you will feel confident in the area you want to specialise in. You will visit early childhood settings for placement to observe the curriculum in practice for 30 days.

In your third year , your own practice is enhanced and consolidated through an increasing focus on areas of personal interest, aiming to achieve the best possible outcomes for both children and their families. You will investigate a range of concepts central to early childhood as an advocate for children. These could include children’s rights or cultural, political and economic factors. We will teach you how to develop effective partnerships with child development professionals, parents, families, and communities. You will learn how to work with parents from all cultures and backgrounds, so everyone is included in the child’s development. You will develop an Early Childhood Specialisation at this stage of the programme. To enhance the curriculum, you will design fun activities to stimulate children’s learning and development. You will delve into an independent research project to improve your practice. By the end of this year, you will have everything you need to support a child’s development. You will visit early childhood settings for placement to observe the curriculum in practice for 25 days.

Your main campus is de Havilland

You’ll share this campus with students from business, law, sport, and education subjects. The student housing is close to our Sports Village which includes a gym, swimming pool and climbing wall. You can get breakfast, lunch, or dinner in our on-campus restaurant or bar (in the newly built Enterprise Hub) on days you don’t feel like cooking. You can also use the common room to play pool, video games or just to hang out with friends. Our Learning Resources Centres are open 24/7, which means you can study whenever it suits you best. Do you want to pop over to the other campus? You can take the free shuttle bus or walk there in just 15 minutes.   

What will I study?

Degree programmes are structured into levels, 4, 5 and 6.  These correspond to your first, second and third/final year of study.  Below you can see what modules you’ll be studying in each year.

The study abroad option offers you an opportunity for an amazing experience, which will help make you stand out from the crowd. With more and more companies working internationally, experience of living in another country can make a great impression on future employers.  

As such, this course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV by studying abroad in semester B of your second year of study. The University has partnerships with over 150 universities around the world, including the USA, Canada, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America and closer to home in Europe.  

We’ll ask you to make your decision towards the end of your first year, so there is plenty of time to think about it. 

Find out more about Study abroad opportunities  

Please note Erasmus+ funding is only available until May 2023. For students starting their course in September 2022 and wishing to study abroad in 2023-24 or 2024-25, please refer to the Turing Scheme .

You will be in placement for 80 days in all three years of the programme and all modules develop professional practice skills through placement-related tasks and assessments. You can undertake placement in a wide range of contexts, for example, day nurseries, pre-schools, special schools, children’s centres or family support organisations. You will attain the Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies in addition to gaining their BA (Hons) award.

Your learning and experience in placement will support and inform your learning in the taught modules during the three years. If you are already in work, you may not need an additional placement, but the placement tutor may recommend some visits to other settings.

You’ll get a personal tutor to guide you through your course, all the way to graduation. You might also want or need extra support during your time with us. Rest assured, no matter what you study, we’ve got you covered. For help with study skills, including referencing, essay writing and presentations, you’ll have access to our academic support services. You can attend workshops, 1-to-1 sessions and online tutorials. Both our LRCs (Learning Resource Centres) run drop-in study skills sessions. And the best thing is, it’s all free.

There are also opportunities to have a peer mentor, who will be a more experienced student specially trained to provide support for you.

Check out our student blogs

Student Blogs

Sarah Gillman - Week at a glance

A Week in the Life of an Early Childhood Education undergraduate student. Hi! My name is Sarah, and I’m a first-year university student studying at Hertfordshire Uni.

I’m studying an undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education, and I hope to become a nursery teacher in the future! When I was considering which universities I wanted to apply for, I found it helpful to know how each day would look on the course, partly so I could see how many days I needed to commute as I was looking to stay home while studying. So, I thought it might be helpful to show you what my normal week looks like. Monday: After commuting via train to the De Havilland university, I check my online uni schedule to see what lecture room I’m in and make my way there. (students can use the Herts app for directions).

On Mondays I have a 10am start. During these Monday lectures, we have been covering a module which involves creating an activity plan for children aged 0-3 or 3-5. We often have the opportunity to have interactive learning in our lectures to help us with ideas. For example, our class were provided with various outdoor learning equipment to experiment with- it was so much fun!

At around 1pm, my friends and I then have lunch. Sometimes we go to the food court on campus. Each week there are different options available to buy. Some days that may be burgers and fries, other days it could be stir fry or mac and cheese! Herts recognises that we are all broke students, and so their food prices are really cheap- I highly recommend grabbing a bite to eat from there.

After an hour lunch break, I return for a final lecture. This usually involves a ‘seminar’ which is a discussion about what we learnt that day. Sometimes it involves group work to keep us engaged.

Finally, it’s time to go home at 4pm!

Tuesday: On Tuesdays my lectures also begin at 10am. On this day we cover a separate module all about our identity- both personal and professional. For this assignment, we need to submit a short video, rather than a written essay! I love how the course tries to make each assignment as engaging to complete as possible. (Tip: make lots of notes during lectures, as this can really come in handy when completing your assignments).

After a couple of hours of lectures, I go to the Starbucks on campus as they have really comfortable seating and great music! They serve a range of hot lunch foods like toasties, and also many things that a normal Starbucks wouldn’t have- like a whole pizza for £5! They have lovely hot drinks too if you’re feeling cold or sleep deprived.

Finally, after another lecture from 2-4pm, we go home.

Wednesday: On Wednesdays, I have a day at home to complete uni work. This sometimes involves completing extra reading that our lecturers have asked us to look at, or writing my assignments.

Thursdays + Fridays: On these days I work at my local nursery- I have found that working in a childcare setting whilst completing a childcare related degree really helps put things into perspective and supports you to become more experienced.

Because of my experience, I can now use examples from my work in my assignments, and find it easier to understand some aspects of the course.

And that’s a week in my life as a student at Herts university! Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you will consider this university and course, I can’t recommend it enough.

If you have any questions about this course, the university in general or just about being a student at Herts, feel free to drop me a message and I would be more than happy to answer.

Katie - Why I love education

What I love most about my course

I loved my course because we learnt Psychology, History of Education, Contemporary Ideas and Philosophy-what is education. In my First Year, to give you a different view what education is about and then you were able to decide if you wanted to general overview of education or be more specific and I chose special education needs as I wanted to understand in more detail about special education needs what it meant in a different context.

In my Second Year, I learnt more about special education needs and what is inclusion  I was able to explain what cerebral palsy is to my fellow classmates and we had real-life experiences from other people who had different disabilities talk to us which gave me the opportunity to see it through their eyes and I became to see things differently not everything is as straight forwarded as I first thought.

We were given the chance to have work experience within our modules and I really enjoyed this part of the course as I was able to go back to my old school and do my work experience there as I was able to go to two schools: Lonsdale and Nobel and it were nice to see how much they have changed for the better and I was able to improve their access as they asked my opinion and they have used some of my suggestions that I put forward.

Working with my teacher again was one of the highlights as he said I’m still the same person; passionate about people seeing passed the wheelchair and I have had other students with disabilities come up to me asking who I am and they want to be as confident as I am! This gave me a different idea of what I wanted to do within education, which I will discuss further on.

With the new knowledge that I had gained helped me with my work as a governor as I was able to articulate my views very well and some of my ideas that I have suggested have been used at the school. We were also the opportunity to learn about research and all the terminology, so we had the skills ready for our final year.

Final Year

They say Final Year is the hardest and I totally agree it is but that is the challenge as learning is not always meant to be easy. We only had one lecture a week for the research project in semester A, the rest were seminars to do with Research and Special Educational needs.  Research Project was split into two sections: a proposal of our research project and presenting it as a presentation. This gave the tutors insight about how we thought through our question as it had to be a small example due to the time restrictions so that we focused on the question we wanted to answer.

I was grateful for this as I was able to use the proposed plan as my main structure for the writing part in part two which saved me so much time and effort. I would suggest that you use part one of the research as your layout in part two.

On a personal level, my time at Herts has been amazing even with the challenges that I had to face within the university and school of education are an amazing team to be a part of as they supported me to voice my ideas and express them to the relevant people.

As said previously I was passionate about people seeing passed the wheelchair and because of my personal challenges at university. I then realised I wanted to start my own business as a disability awareness coordinator as I feel that I can educate people on how to how to communicate with people with different disabilities. I have my Canine Partner still waiting for my partnership and I will have him work alongside me in this new journey. So, I have new experiences happening in my life after university which is exciting.

Katie - Why I chose herts

Why I chose Herts

I chose Herts because I could commute from home and because of my care needs had to be taken into consideration.  Also, Herts they offered the course I wanted to do which was Education Needs with Special Education Needs.  I wanted to learn more about special education needs in a broader content because I know about cerebral palsy as I live with it myself.

Annabelle - Unibuddy

• United Kingdom

Education in the UK

Full information about UK education: schools, universities and programs.

The educational system in the UK is considered to be among the best in the world. The U.S. News Report placed it in second place after the USA in its rating [1] . Many decisions — especially concerning curriculum design and grading systems — are made by schools and universities at the local level. Thanks to this, studies are suitable for students with completely different needs.

In this article, we explain the structure of education in the UK at all levels — from kindergarten to doctorate studies. Read about higher education and admission to British universities in separate articles.

Features of education in the UK

• Comprehensive education. Already in the first grade, children study 10 compulsory subjects. Many schools also introduce additional classes. The range of disciplines covers all spheres of human life: natural and human sciences, art, technology, and sports. This broadens the horizons of the students and allows them to discover a variety of talents.
• Early specialization. By high school, the number of subjects, on the contrary, is reduced. A few years before entering a university, it is advisable for students to already decide on the direction in which they plan to study. During the last two years of study — in grades 12 and 13 — students choose 3-5 subjects and focus solely on them.
• Encouragement of independence. The educational system in the UK is aimed at developing the skills of critical thinking, initiative, and independent search for information at all levels. Even in primary school, students write essays and create their own research projects.
• Good conditions for teachers. English teachers earn a higher wage than teachers in other developed countries, such as France , Italy , and Sweden [2] . In addition, they are sponsored by state grants and scholarships. This makes the teaching profession truly prestigious, attracting the most talented teachers to schools and universities.
• Long term education. In Britain, compulsory secondary education lasts from grades 1 to 11 or from 5 to 16 years of age. In fact, most children study even longer: from 3 to 18 years of age, then moving on to university.
• Conditions for foreigners. While education at public English schools is free, it is available only to citizens of the country. Children of foreigners enter private institutions, where the cost of education is 15,000-30,000 USD per year. At universities, the situation is the same: foreigners have to pay several times more than local residents. For example, at Oxford , the tuition is at least 36,567  USD per year (instead of 12,150  USD ).
• Equality in access to education. The UK government is trying to ensure access to education for all people, regardless of their social status. To do this, free public schools attract the best teachers, and universities pay scholarships to students from families in need

Preschool education in the UK

Usually, preschool education (known as Early Years) begins at the age of 2-3 years and ends at 5 years old. This stage is optional, but most parents prefer to send their children to kindergartens, which in England are called preschools or playschools . The state finances preschool education in the form of vouchers, with which parents can fully pay for their child's education in a public institution or cover part of the costs at a private kindergarten.

The main goal of preschools is to help kids learn to communicate and understand other people. There, they receive basic knowledge about society and the world around them, as well as develop literacy and mathematical abilities. Under the guidance of teachers, children play, draw, sculpt from clay, learn songs, and do exercises. Classes occur 15 hours per week, and the study load per year is 570 hours.

School education in the UK

Primary education.

School education in the UK is divided into primary education and secondary education. These stages are further divided into key steps. For primary education, these are:

• Key stage 1 — ages 5 to 7, grades 1-2
• Key stage 2 — ages 7 to 11, grades 3-6

In primary school, children learn English, mathematics, science, art and design, geography, history, music, and physical education. Students begin learning a foreign language in third grade. The school day lasts from 8:30 to 15:30 with a lunch break and additional15 minute breaks.

The grading system in English primary schools is based on the expectation of how a child should develop at his age (expected standard). In total, four levels are distinguished:

• The student works at the expected level.
• The student strives for the expected level.
• The student performs below the expected level.
• The student performs above the expected level.

Each school sets its own specific criteria for evaluation. This makes the system more flexible.

At the end of their second and sixth years, students take standardized SATs. After second grade, children take tests in reading and mathematics, and after sixth — in reading, mathematics, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Secondary education

After graduating from primary school, students move on to secondary education. They are automatically transferred to state institutions, and for admission to private institutions, they have to pass specialized Common Entrance exams.

Education in secondary school is divided into two stages:

• Key stage 3 — ages 11 to 14, grades 7-9
• Key stage 4 — ages 14 to 16, grades 10-11

At Key stage 3, several new subjects are added to the basic subjects: the basics of social responsibility (citizenship), sex education, and career guidance. The whole program is divided into three main blocks:

• Compulsory subjects (core curriculum) — mathematics, English, biology, chemistry, and physics.
• Optional subjects (optional curriculum) — geography, humanities, art and design, dance, music, theater, and technology-related subjects.
• Extended program (extension curriculum) — these are additional subjects that are unique to each school. They often involve the creation of an individual or group interdisciplinary project.

High school education is divided into trimesters. At the end of each trimester, credit weeks are held, where students are assessed for how well they have learned the material. Knowledge is evaluated on a nine-point scale.

At the age of 14, students begin to prepare for the final exam — General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). It tests all of the subjects studied by the student and officially confirms graduation from high school. This concludes compulsory secondary education. Those who wish to pursue university studies continue their high school education through the Sixth Form program.

High School — Sixth Form/A-Levels

At Sixth form or Key stage 5, students study from ages 16-18. Schools offer various training programs, but the most common is called A-Levels . This is an advanced program that lasts two years. In this program, students receive university-level knowledge, reducing the length of their undergraduate studies to three years.

There are no compulsory subjects in A-levels — the students themselves draw up a schedule depending on the specialty they are going to enroll in. At the beginning of the first year of study, students choose 3-5 disciplines. The next year, 1-2 can be abandoned in order to fully focus on the subjects of interest. This approach makes education more flexible and individualized.

Most often, classes are held from 8:30 to 17:00 with a lunch break. Additionally, 8-14 lessons per week are allocated for independent work. There are no mixed classes — pupils are united in groups according to their chosen subjects, similar to a university setting. Usually, there are 10-15 students per group.

The knowledge of each student is assessed according to the specific course. While some subjects conduct intermediate exams, others do not. Practical work, essays, individual and group projects play an important role in the assessment process. In the creative disciplines, portfolios may also be assessed.

A-levels end with final exams in selected subjects, which are taken in January or May-June. These exams determine the final grade for the discipline [3] . They are ranked on a letter scale from E to A*, where E is the worst result. The same grades are assessed for admission to universities. A student usually needs to pass three exams in specialized subjects, thus the passing scores for universities look like a combination of three letters. At Cambridge , for example, the passing score is A*AA or A*A*A, and at the lesser-known University of Sussex , the score is AAB or ABB.

The advantage of A-Levels is that after passing the exams, you can apply to not only English universities: the results are also recognized in the USA , Canada , Australia , and at many European and Asian universities .

Higher education in the UK

Higher education in the UK is of the highest quality and prestige: among the top 100 best universities in the world according to QS Ranking, 17 are British universities [4] . British universities have high graduate employment rates and good funding. Due to the high salaries and living standards, the best teachers from all over the world are employed at universities. Thanks to this, the country has the second highest number of international students after the USA [5] .

Vocational Education

Vocational education in the UK is separate from secondary, but at the same time does not belong to higher education. Such education is available at technical schools — FE Colleges . Students go to FE Colleges immediately after graduating from high school and passing the GCSE exams. FE Colleges train specialists in IT, business, engineering, and support staff of medical institutions. As a result, graduates receive BTEC qualifications, after which you can get a job or continue your education as part of an apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships are on-the-job training programs, With classes in college or university constituting 20% of the training. Such qualifications are equivalent to bachelor's degrees, but you cannot continue an academic career after completing them. It will be especially difficult for foreigners to enroll in such programs, because they will need a work visa, rather than a student visa. You can receive such a visa only in agreement with an employer.

University studies

In the UK, as in most other countries, higher education is divided into three levels. However, the length of study is different:

• Bachelor's degree — 3 years (instead of 4 years).
• Master's degree — 1 year (instead of 2 years).
• Doctorate degree — 4 years.

Due to the fact that secondary education in Britain lasts 13 years, and during the last two years students are engaged in a university program, the time of study at a university is reduced. At the same time, there will be no problems with the recognition of an English diploma abroad. It is equivalent to a bachelor's degree in any other country.

There are several special types of programs at British universities:

• The Sandwich Course is a bachelor’s degree combined with work experience. Between the second and third years of studies, students go on a one-year internship in their specialty, in the end receiving both a diploma and experience.
• Undergraduate Master's degrees are programs that combine bachelor’s and master’s programs. The program lasts four years, and in the end graduates are awarded a master's degree. Such programs are particularly common in STEM fields . The training is focused more on practice rather than the continuation of an academic career.
• PhD 1 + 3 programs combine two stages of education: master's and doctorate studies, the duration of which is four years. Moreover, graduates receive two degrees at once: a master's and PhD .

At universities, students make their own timetable. Usually, there are several compulsory disciplines in bachelor's programs, without which it will not be possible to complete the degree. That being said, students are free to choose their own additional subjects. The main thing is to obtain the required number of study hours, which are measured in credits.

Knowledge, especially in the humanities, is assessed mainly through essays, research papers, and projects. There are also exams, but they are less common than at universities in other countries. British education in any specialty is aimed at developing practical skills, one of them being critical thinking. Professors encourage students to ask questions, express their opinions, and lead the discussion. Disagreeing with a teacher is completely normal.

Admission to bachelor's programs occurs through a special platform called UCAS , while the admission process for master's and doctorate programs takes place directly through the university's website. The admissions committee evaluates the candidate based on his GPA , motivation letter , references, and resume . You will also need an English proficiency certificate (for example, IELTS ). Some programs require you to pass an interview.

Education in the UK is quite expensive: from 19,702  USD to 52,539  USD per year. An additional 15,762  USD can be expected for accommodation. In America or Australia, prices are comparable, but prices in Europe are several times lower. In order for talented, but not very rich students to come to the country, British universities and the government offer large scholarships. Some of them fully cover the cost of education, but they are often available only to undergraduate students. For bachelor’s programs, the usual size of a scholarship is 10-30% of the tuition cost.

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Home education: why are so many parents choosing it over mainstream school?

Education Research Assistant and PhD Candidate, Anglia Ruskin University

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Lucie Wheeler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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There has been a notable rise in parents choosing to home educate their children over recent years, and particularly since the COVID pandemic.

Elective home education – carrying out a child’s education at home, outside the school system – is a legal right in the UK .

The number of families home educating is not known. There is no legal requirement to register with a local authority in England, nor is there any other register for parents choosing to home educate. This means relying on data from organisations carrying out research to gain an idea of these numbers.

The Association of Directors of Children’s Services reported that there were around 81,200 children receiving home education in England in 2021. Charity Education Otherwise reported a similar number of 83,974 in April 2021.

More recently, the Department for Education has begun conducting its own research on home education, from data reported by local authorities. It found that in January 2023, around 86,200 children were being home educated in England – and that this had risen to around 92,000 in autumn 2023.

Ways of home schooling

There are several routes that families take when choosing an educational pathway for their children.

If a child in England is already at mainstream school when their family decides to home educate, the parents must de-register their child before beginning home education. To do so parents need to send a letter of de-registration, requesting the school to remove the child from their roll.

In Scotland, a parent needs the local council’s permission to withdraw their child from school.

If a child is not at school and has not been entered into the schooling system, there is no requirement to alert the local authority and they can simply continue to educate how they want.

Some parents may choose a combination of school and home education. This is known as flexi-schooling : the child attends school part time and learns at home part time. However, this is not a right and in England, requires the agreement of the school’s headteacher.

Other educational options available to families when their children are struggling in the mainstream system include “education other than at school”. In this case, the school remains responsible for the child’s education but it is provided either at home or within a specialist provision, such as a special school.

Alternatively, a child may be educated in alternate provision . In England, this might be in a Pupil Referral Unit. This is a type of school that caters for children who are unable to attend mainstream school. This could be for a range of reasons such as illness, behavioural difficulties or neurodiverse learning styles.

Choosing home education

There are many reasons parents choose to home educate their child.

There are those who reject the mainstream way of educating and opt for a more “unconventional” approach. The parents want to focus on nurturing their children and want to be at home learning with them.

Some families talk of being unhappy with the school curriculum . They choose to home educate so they can teach the curriculum they wish and give their child or children a personalised education .

Families may choose home education because it fits best with their own lifestyle. Work and life commitments can dictate how the children learn and some families choose to do it while travelling, which is known as roadschooling or worldschooling .

Some families feel they do not have a choice but to home educate. They have been termed in some research as “last resort” home educators.

Their child might have special educational needs or disabilities that their school is unable to meet adequately. Their child might be being bullied at school, or they might be highly gifted, meaning that they or their parents feel the school curriculum isn’t suitable for them. Some young people may refuse to attend school due to overwhelming anxiety or what is known as “emotionally based school avoidance” .

A study that explored why parents in the UK chose to home educate found the most common reasons were that parents were disappointed with the education and schools (31%); they had always planned and had the intention to home educate (30%); their child was being bullied (25%) or the child was sick, exhausted or depressed (24%).

Social media – whether through homeschooling families’ Instagram accounts or sites such as the Not Fine in School Facebook page, where parents discuss the challenges their children face in mainstream education – has played a powerful role in expanding knowledge of home education. More parents may be making this choice because they know it is an option available to them.

The challenge is to ensure adequate support is in place for the children who may want to remain in school but feel they cannot, as well as for those whose families wish to take this route.

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Ian Duncan was fortunate to have scholarships at both Agricultural College and University studying Veterinary Science; he has not forgotten the generous assistance these scholarships provided.

Anthea and Ian have three daughters; one a hospital pharmacist; another who originally trained as an early childhood/primary teacher and who now teaches deaf children; and the third, a veterinary surgeon. Hence the two Duncan Family Scholarships in Pharmacy and Early Childhood Teaching at UNE, the much-respected University in Armidale, their hometown for many years.

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Check the details below to see if you are eligible to apply for this scholarship. If you are eligible, keep a record of the name of this scholarship to add to your scholarship application.

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• Financial need; AND
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• The scholarship will be administered by the University of New England.
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• Why are you studying your chosen course and what are your career aspirations?
• Tell us about your personal strengths and community activities you are involved in. How have you used them to make a difference in the lives of others?
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• Complete the Financial Need Details Section on the application form.

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• The student shall receive $625 per 6 credit points (or equivalent) to a maximum of $5,000 for 48 credit points (or full-time equivalent) per academic year.
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• Should a student be required to repeat any unit, a second scholarship payment will not be made for this unit.
• The student must continue to achieve the academic eligibility requirement of 5.0 GPA in each trimester.
• The student must submit a brief progress report upon request each year reporting on progress with their studies and involvement in sporting, cultural and community activities as well as participation in University life, where applicable.

Scholarship Specific Conditions:

Recipients seeking the extension of their scholarship may re-apply through the normal application process. Preference may be shown to the scholarship incumbent.

General Conditions:

• The scholarship is intended for the nominated course and may not be deferred or transferred. If you wish to make any significant changes to your enrolment (e.g. change of degree, study mode and/or load) you must notify Student Scholarships prior to doing so. If you no longer satisfy the criteria and conditions of the scholarship, you may not retain it.
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• If at any time during the scholarship term the student is found to have committed behavioural misconduct in accordance with the University’s  Student Behavioural Misconduct Rules , the scholarship will be terminated and any outstanding payments to be made under the scholarship will not be paid.  You may also be required to repay any instalment already received. Students who are residential college residents are also subject to the  Residential College Code of Conduct .
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• Failure to meet the requirements of these Terms and Conditions may lead to the termination of the scholarship and you being required to repay any instalment already received.

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Early Childhood Educator - Ark Start St Clement

56 days remaining to apply, start date details.

As soon as possible

Closing date

28 October 2024 at 12pm (midday)

Date listed

2 September 2024

Job details

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Working pattern, contract type, full-time equivalent salary, what skills and experience we're looking for.

• To ensure a high standard of physical, emotional, social, and intellectual care for all children in their care
• To ensure all children are safeguarded and their welfare and safety is promoted
• To provide an enabling environment in which all children can play, learn, and develop
• To have the skill, creativity, commitment, energy, and enthusiasm required to deliver excellent provision.
• To promote the aims and objectives of the nursery
• To promote the high standards of the nursery at all times to parents, staff, and visitors
• To follow the nursery safeguarding procedure to ensure all children are kept safe, well, and secure
• To ensure the provision of high standards of physical and emotional care
• To work with families and parents / carers
• To keep records of your children’s development and learning journals and share this with parents and carers and ensure all record keeping is up to date and accurate
• Liaise with the local authority and other external agencies as required
• Undertake required domestic jobs within the nursery as required
• Participate fully in team meetings and training
• Read, understand, and adhere to all policies and procedures within the nursery
• Ensure good standards of safety, hygiene and cleanliness are maintained
• Washing and changing children when required
• Ensure mealtimes are pleasant social experience
• Ensure poorly children are tended to and parents informed immediately
• To provide cover when required
• To undertake any other duties as determined by the management
• Actively promote the safety and welfare of our children and young people
• Ensure compliance with Ark Start data protection rules and procedures
• Liaise with colleagues and external contacts at all levels of seniority with confidence, tact, and diplomacy
• Work with colleagues and other nurseries and schools in the Ark network, to establish good practice, offering support where required.

What the school offers its staff

A Real Living Wage Employer: We are a Real Living Wage employer with a minimum salary of £13.15 per hour for all roles in London. We also pay 11% pension contributions

Ongoing Learning: We are committed to providing the best development for all our staff. We close the nurseries for five days each year to focus on staff training and ensure there is protected time for training and supervision each week for every adult. We work hard to ensure there are clear career progression routes

Annual leave: We are proud of our staff and want everyone to feel valued for playing their part. That’s why staff receive 25 days holiday each year, excluding bank holidays

Wellbeing: Staff wellbeing is incredibly important to us. We know that while incredibly rewarding, working in a nursery can be challenging. We therefore work hard to ensure all staff have the support and infrastructure they need to take care of their wellbeing

Part of a Network: Ark Start is part of Ark, a charity that aims to transform children’s lives through education. Ark operates a network of 39 schools across London, Birmingham, Portsmouth, and Hastings as well as a number of charitable ventures. Being part of a network means our staff get access to the opportunities, infrastructure, and support of a large organisation

Commitment to safeguarding

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. In order to meet this responsibility, we follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.

All employees must undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred.

Applying for the job

Apply for the job by following the link below.

CVs are not accepted.

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About Ark Schools

We’re an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we’re a network of 39 schools, educating around 28,500 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we’re recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

Arranging a visit to Ark Schools

To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email [email protected] .

Head office location

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Teacher of Physical Education

• ESMS - The Mary Erskine School

Edinburgh, City of

• £34,508 - £49,977 per year

Job overview

Erskine Stewart’s Melville Schools are currently recruiting for a Teacher of Physical Education to join The Mary Erskine School on a permanent basis from 6 January 2025 or 28 October 2024 if possible (subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks). The role is full time, with a salary of £34,508 -£49,977 per annum dependent on qualifications and experience.

The successful candidate must be GTCS registered or eligible for registration, they must have a recognised teaching qualification along with a subject-specific degree, strong communication skills, integrity, resilience, and a commitment to student development and fairness. Familiarity with SQA qualifications is desirable.

To learn more about this role, please access the job description provided.

Eligibility

ESMS is unable to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. International applicants will therefore be unable to apply for and secure a Skilled Worker visa. The successful candidate will only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right work in the UK.

Staff are offered a range of benefits including: a generous holiday allowance, enhanced sick pay, family friendly policies, use of the Schools’ swimming pool and fitness room outside school hours, membership of the ESMS Discount and Benefits Scheme, including a range of discounts at 130,000 retail and entertainment locations.

We are looking for individuals who can embody and promote ESMS values of Kindness, Confidence, Resilience, Integrity, and Curiosity while role modelling behaviours in line with our school pillars of Ambition, Innovation, and Community.

ESMS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Applicants must undergo child protection screening, including checks with past employers and Disclosure Scotland.

All staff working at ESMS have direct access to young people therefore all posts within the school are considered exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

In order to apply for the position, applicants must visit https://jobsearch.esms.org.uk/ to submit their application form.

Any enquiries about this position should be directed to the ESMS Recruitment Team at [email protected]

The closing date for applications is 12pm on Friday, 13 September 2024. We anticipate shortlisting to be held the week commencing 16 September 2024, with interviews later that week or the week after.

Attached documents

• Job Description 100.04KB

About ESMS - The Mary Erskine School

• Ravelston, Edinburgh
• United Kingdom

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The Mary Erskine School is an independent, non-denominational day school for girls aged 11-18 in Edinburgh.  There are approximately 740 girls, of whom about 25 are boarders.  Admission is through assessment.  ESMS has a charitable foundation and provides financial assistance to over 150 bursary holders, who attend The Mary Erskine School or Stewart's Melville College.  The school is one of the oldest girls' schools in the UK, having been founded in 1694, and was voted The Sunday Times Independent Secondary School of the Year in 2012.

The school enjoys an excellent academic reputation and prides itself on the range of musical, dramatic and other extra-curricular opportunities offered to its girls.  Girls have sung in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo choir, represented the UK in the European Youth Parliament on four occasions, performed in professional West End touring shows, gone on incredible trips to diverse locations including Malawi, Vietnam, New Zealand and China, and represented their school and country in sports including hockey, fencing, cricket and equestrianism.

The Mary Erskine School is part of the ESMS family of schools and is closely twinned with Stewart's Melville College through a shared House system and co-education in many activities, including trips, shows, concerts, orchestras, bands, numerous Outdoor Education projects and in the Combined Cadet Force.  The co-educational Sixth Form aims to offer a genuine pre-university experience.

Mr Anthony Simpson

Values and vision

The Mary Erskine School has nine core values that are recognised by all members of the school community: kindness, respect, commitment, enthusiasm, responsibility, grace, appreciation, confidence and integrity.

The school follows its own curriculum prior to examination years.  The Curriculum for Excellence is not followed.  Girls generally sit the public examinations prescribed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.  It is normal for girls to sit a combination of eight subjects at National 5 and to proceed to Higher courses in S5. The majority will return for a final year in Sixth Form, with a high proportion taking Advanced Highers.  ‘A’ Levels are offered in Art and in Music.

The Mary Erskine School aims to provide the opportunity for its students to find their voice, ignore stereotypes and to become confident young women. Students are encouraged to be ambitious, set very high standards for themselves and learn leadership skills, making them ready to take their place in society as strong leaders and role models for future generations of girls.

Education Scotland report

“There were very good links between the school and the Houses. The Principal, senior managers with responsibility for boarding and the Housemaster and Housemistress monitored pupils’ academic and personal progress closely.”

View the Mary Erskine School's latest Education Scotland report

Please note that you are wholly responsible for fact checking in respect of the information provided by schools. Please also check for the latest visa and work permit requirements that may apply. Tes is not responsible for the content of advertisements or the policies adopted by advertising schools. Tes asks that all schools follow Tes' Fair Recruitment Policy .

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Blog The Education Hub

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/08/20/gcse-results-day-2024-number-grading-system/

GCSE results day 2024: Everything you need to know including the number grading system

Thousands of students across the country will soon be finding out their GCSE results and thinking about the next steps in their education.   

Here we explain everything you need to know about the big day, from when results day is, to the current 9-1 grading scale, to what your options are if your results aren’t what you’re expecting.  

When is GCSE results day 2024?  

GCSE results day will be taking place on Thursday the 22 August.     

The results will be made available to schools on Wednesday and available to pick up from your school by 8am on Thursday morning.  

Schools will issue their own instructions on how and when to collect your results.   

When did we change to a number grading scale?  

The shift to the numerical grading system was introduced in England in 2017 firstly in English language, English literature, and maths.  

By 2020 all subjects were shifted to number grades. This means anyone with GCSE results from 2017-2020 will have a combination of both letters and numbers.  

The numerical grading system was to signal more challenging GCSEs and to better differentiate between students’ abilities - particularly at higher grades between the A *-C grades. There only used to be 4 grades between A* and C, now with the numerical grading scale there are 6.  

What do the number grades mean?  

The grades are ranked from 1, the lowest, to 9, the highest.  

The grades don’t exactly translate, but the two grading scales meet at three points as illustrated below.  

The bottom of grade 7 is aligned with the bottom of grade A, while the bottom of grade 4 is aligned to the bottom of grade C.    

Meanwhile, the bottom of grade 1 is aligned to the bottom of grade G.  

What to do if your results weren’t what you were expecting?  

If your results weren’t what you were expecting, firstly don’t panic. You have options.  

First things first, speak to your school or college – they could be flexible on entry requirements if you’ve just missed your grades.   

They’ll also be able to give you the best tailored advice on whether re-sitting while studying for your next qualifications is a possibility.   

If you’re really unhappy with your results you can enter to resit all GCSE subjects in summer 2025. You can also take autumn exams in GCSE English language and maths.  

Speak to your sixth form or college to decide when it’s the best time for you to resit a GCSE exam.  

Look for other courses with different grade requirements     

Entry requirements vary depending on the college and course. Ask your school for advice, and call your college or another one in your area to see if there’s a space on a course you’re interested in.    

Consider an apprenticeship    

Apprenticeships combine a practical training job with study too. They’re open to you if you’re 16 or over, living in England, and not in full time education.  

As an apprentice you’ll be a paid employee, have the opportunity to work alongside experienced staff, gain job-specific skills, and get time set aside for training and study related to your role.   

You can find out more about how to apply here .  

Talk to a National Careers Service (NCS) adviser    

The National Career Service is a free resource that can help you with your career planning. Give them a call to discuss potential routes into higher education, further education, or the workplace.   

Whatever your results, if you want to find out more about all your education and training options, as well as get practical advice about your exam results, visit the  National Careers Service page  and Skills for Careers to explore your study and work choices.   

You may also be interested in:

• Results day 2024: What's next after picking up your A level, T level and VTQ results?
• When is results day 2024? GCSEs, A levels, T Levels and VTQs

Tags: GCSE grade equivalent , gcse number grades , GCSE results , gcse results day 2024 , gsce grades old and new , new gcse grades

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For example, if your child turns 4 in June, they’ll usually start school in September that same year.

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One-word Ofsted grade scrap a relief for parents, says Starmer on school visit

Sir keir starmer spoke with pupils at perry hall primary school in orpington on monday..

The scrapping of single-phrase inspection headline grades for schools in England will be a relief for parents, the Prime Minister has said as he visited a primary school and chatted with students on their first day back.

Sir Keir Starmer spoke with pupils at Perry Hall Primary School in Orpington on Monday, telling one class that it is his Government’s job to “make sure that you get the best education you can”.

He, along with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, sat and quizzed Year Ones on their summer holidays before Sir Keir was grilled by Year Fours on why he wanted to be prime minister, on his values and on what he is going to do to help the environment.

Sir Keir spoke to the media during the visit and started off by defending the decision to scrap Ofsted single-word headline grades.

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He denied sacrificing simplicity for parents and insisted the move “is about driving up standards”.

“Making sure we’ve got a richer picture so parents can see in a more accountable way the real strength of a school and making sure we’ve got the improvements in to catch schools quickly,” he said.

Sir Keir added: “We’ll be absolutely pressing schools on standards and I don’t accept that parents will be confused.

“I’ve got two children in secondary education and so we have ourselves had to look at schools, and I have to say, from our point of view, the single grade didn’t work very well because we want to know what about the other areas, what about this aspect?”

He said he thinks a lot of parents “will be really relieved” to have a “richer picture, more accountability and that you’ve got a Government that is absolutely determined to drive up standards”.

The Prime Minister was also asked to respond to comments made by shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch who described the Labour government as dishonest and misleading the public over the state of public finances.

Sir Keir told reporters: “I’m not going to take lectures from anyone from the previous government who left the worst possible inheritance.”

He referenced a “£22 billion black hole” in the economy, citing the figure again when he defended his decision to cut winter fuel allowance.

“We’ve got to make tough choices,” he said.

“I don’t want to cut the winter fuel allowance … but we’ve got to fix the foundations of our economy and that’s what this is all about – making sure that we fix the foundations and then, having done that, that we can build a better future that pensioners and so many other people voted for in this election.”

Sir Keir was also questioned on why he has not taken action after tenants claimed they were living with black mould and ant infestations in some of Labour MP Jas Athwal’s rental properties.

He called it “unacceptable for any landlord”, but said Mr Athwal was “taking the necessary measures to put it right”.

Asked if he would remove the whip from the MP if it is not put right as quickly as possible for the tenants and questioned on why he has not taken action, Sir Keir said: “It has to be put right. He’s taking action to put it right, we need to do that as quickly as possible.”

The Prime Minister also addressed questions on allegations of cronyism following the announcement of a probe into Labour-era hires to the senior civil service by the Whitehall appointments watchdog.

He told reporters that he was “getting on with” a “government of service”.

“We want the best people in the best posts, for sure, but that government of service matters deeply to this government, matters deeply to me, because I came in to government to serve,” Sir Keir said.

Speaking to Year Four pupils, Sir Keir said he wanted to be prime minister to “make things better for lots of people across the country”.

He highlighted integrity as an important value, telling students that doing things “for the right reasons” is crucial.

He also told them he was going to “preserve and protect” the environment “to make sure that it’s there for you and your future children and children after that”.

The class also discussed with him their favourite sports, with some of them cheering when Sir Keir said he supported Arsenal Football Club.

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