Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of early years funding rates for two and three year olds for meeting staffing costs, including required non contact time for preparation, setup, and safeguarding obligations.

In 2026/27, the department expects to provide over £9.5 billion for the early years entitlements, including an increase of 15% in Early Years Pupil Premium, more than doubling annual public investment in the early years sector compared to 2023/24. Staff costs make up the most significant proportion of provider costs. Therefore, due to tighter staffing ratios, the cost of delivery is highest for younger children, which is reflected in the differing hourly funding rates.

To calculate rate uplifts, the department uses an analytical model which considers data from the Early Years Census and the survey of childcare and early years providers, various government forecasts such as average earnings growth and the consumer price index, and the national living wage to determine cost pressures for the early years Sector.

All early years providers are legally required to keep children safe and promote their welfare, and all practitioners must undergo safe training as set out on the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework. To further support settings with safeguarding training requirements, the department is developing a free online safeguarding training package for early years settings which will be available later this spring.

We will consult on changes to how early years funding is distributed later this year.