Childcare sufficiency

Information about the sufficiency of childcare within Worcestershire.

Section 6 of the Education Act 2006 sets out the duty of local authorities of securing, as far as is reasonably possible, sufficient places for children aged 9 months to 4 years of age to access their entitlement to funded nursery education.

In addition, local authorities should secure sufficient childcare to support parents to go back to work or to undertake education or training leading to work.

District based childcare sufficiency maps

Based on the take-up of Nursery Education Funding during the Summer Term 2024, and included the estimated take-up of the expanded entitlement for children under the age of 2 (which beings in September 2024), the following district maps highlight areas of potential insufficiency of funded provision.

Definitions

childminder: early years provision delivery by an Ofsted or childminder agency registered childminder
group-based: early years provision delivered by private, voluntary and independent organisations
school-run: early years provision delivered by a school, including academy, free, LA maintained and independent schools
insufficient: the estimated supply of funded early years provision is less than the estimated demand for funded early years provision
sufficient: the estimated supply of funded early years provision is greater than the estimated demand for funded early years provision
within local community: supply and demand estimations take into account levels within the surrounding wards

See the district maps below:

For those with a visual impairment, a written version is available here: Summer Term 2024 Worcestershire County (PDF)