Childcare sufficiency report 2024

Most childcare settings fall within the private, voluntary, and independent (PVI) sector. However, local authorities must still meet the requirements of the Childcare Acts 2006 and 2016. 

The DfE have scaled up government-funded early years places and wraparound places for all school-aged children who need it, increasing the demand. This means that an expansion of the market is needed by September 2025 to meet the new demand.

Lincolnshire has a broad range of childcare services that offer parents a choice of provision. At the time of the survey there were 639 early years childcare providers across Lincolnshire. This includes schools that provide early years childcare.

The table below details the number of early years childcare provision by governance type. Childminders represent the largest group of providers (300). However, they only deliver a small proportion of places in comparison to:

• our Full Day Care (FDC)
• school provision

The largest proportion of providers are privately governed, including childminders. Our ability to foresee changes within the private market can be more challenging. It is therefore essential that we maintain a strong relationship with the sector. This ensures consistent communication and localised intelligence in order to gather updates on the sustainability of the provision being delivered.

Across the last decade, there has been a significant shift from sessional delivery models to full days and all-year-round places being offered that meet working parents needs. This was developed further when the government introduced 30 hours funded childcare for working parents which required many settings to extend the hours they offer. Lincolnshire has more sessional pre-schools extending their hours to meet working parents needs.   

Parental survey

We undertook a parental survey as part of the statutory annual Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2024. The parent survey was published on Let’s talk Lincolnshire for parents or carers with children under 19 years of age. The aim was to find out if childcare is meeting the needs of parents across Lincolnshire.

The survey found that 67.4% were able to access the childcare they needed. Of the remainder, the majority (257) were in need of holiday, before school and after school places for school-aged children.

Parents were asked to clarify the main reason for accessing childcare. This helps us to understand the childcare requirements across the county. They were offered a multiple choice and asked to choose the one. The table below shows the majority (84%) of respondents access childcare in order to work. 

The full report has been published on Let’s Talk Lincolnshire - parental childcare survey.

Early years childcare sufficiency

The data from the provider and parent surveys is analysed against the housing, birthrate and population data to assess the need for places. A formula is applied to the data which calculates how many places would be needed to accommodate the population in each age group.

This year, the formulas have been reviewed. This ensures the new demand from the childcare reforms is reflected accurately. Historic data from three and four-year-old 30 hours take up has been applied at district level. This is an indicator of potential demand for places in each district.  Prior to the roll-out of the 2-year-old working entitlement in April 2024, we had predicted that 2,883 2-year-olds would be eligible for the working parent funded offer using the historic data. 2,979 codes were issued. This demonstrates the methodology has a level of accuracy and will be applied to the predicted number of nine-month-old eligible children.

The data provided below is on a district level. It gives an overview of the current childcare sufficiency across the county. We hold sufficiency data at a children’s centre reach and ward level.   When assessing the need for more places, the team use the data at ward and children’s centre reach to identify the most appropriate place to develop childcare places. This is done in collaboration with localised intelligence, for example:

• discussion with providers about take-up of places
• a review of their occupancy levels within the survey
• knowledge of the parental demographics of the area

In the autumn term 2023, we conducted an additional survey. This helped us understand the capacity of the sector to deliver the childcare reforms. There were 3,628 2-year-olds and 3,153 under 2s already accessing fee paying places.

These children were most likely to be eligible for the working parent funded offer. They have and will become our ‘converters’. When we consider our sufficiency picture, we are confident that these children:

• are already accessing childcare places across the county
• will not need to be counted within our numbers of additional spaces needed to meet new demand 

Sufficiency – early years

The sufficiency data is a predictor of future need. Where there is a deficit of places it is expected they will be needed by September 2025. This will be when the full roll-out of the early years element of the childcare reforms is complete. However, we are confident that the current level of places available meets demand in most areas. There are still areas in Lincolnshire where parents need places. These are in development and being prioritised by the service.

Under 2s sufficiency

2-year-olds sufficiency

3 and 4-year-olds sufficiency

The early years and childcare support team provides more in-depth data and analysis upon public request. The data shows there are surplus places for the 3 and 4-year-old age range. Some providers will consider using capacity in one area to fulfil a need in another age range. Therefore, the overall number of places required is an indication of need for the future. This is being closely monitored as the new entitlements are rolled out.

Developments

We have been allocated £1.46m capital grant funding by the DfE. This will support us in securing sufficient places to meet new demands. Local authorities must determine how best to prioritise this funding to address local sufficiency needs. It has been provided to meet the revenue and capital costs associated with projects that help deliver the expanded funded offer. In response, we have launched a grant funding programme in April 2024. All providers have been invited to apply.

In May 2023, we received approval for a disapplication request from the Secretary of State. As a result, we launched a grant funding program, which has continued in 2024. The grant programme focuses on the development of funded education places for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds. We have been able to merge our funding pots to ensure  all sufficiency needs in all age groups can be supported.

Since the launch of the funding programme we have:

• supported seven projects that increased places for all age groups
• awarded £476,457 in grant contributions to meet sufficiency pressures in the districts listed below

There continues to be a positive appetite within the sector for further developments. We currently:

• have 36 projects being scoped, and
• are supporting these in the coming year to open and provide additional options for families in areas of need