Early years funding: termly data collection in 2025 to 2026
Guidance for local authorities about the 2025 summer and autumn termly data collections for the early years entitlements for eligible working parents of 2-year-olds and under.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
This guidance is for:
- local authorities
- early years providers
- schools
It is for all local authorities that fund early years provision in England.
Guidance
Read the guide to find out how, in 2025 to 2026, we will allocate funding to local authorities for the early years entitlements for eligible working parents of 2-year-olds and under using termly headcounts, rather than relying solely on the annual census headcount.
The guidance sets out:
-
how local authorities should collect and submit data relating to the take-up of the government-funded hours for the early years entitlements for eligible working parents of 2-year-olds and under in the 2025 summer and autumn terms
-
the final funding allocation methodology for these entitlements in 2025 to 2026, whereby local authorities will be funded on a revised allocation profile to better match how they fund providers across the year
Local authorities will be required to collect data from early years providers which are normally included in the early years census, and should work closely with these providers to ensure all children in scope for this data collection are included in the return.
Further information
You can find further information about early years funding for the 2025 to 2026 financial year, including rates and calculations on the early years funding 2025 to 2026 page.