Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children (a) with special education needs, (b) in care and (c) on a child protection plan attended (i) maintained nursery schools, (ii) nursery classes and (iii) private, voluntary and independent early years provision in each of the last four years.

The department holds some of the requested information. However, figures for the number of children in care or for the number of children on a child protection plan by type of early years provision are not available for children below compulsory school age.

The number and proportion of children with special education needs attending maintained nursery schools, nursery classes and private, voluntary and independent providers in each of the last three years are shown in the attached table. Data for 2015 is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

More general information on children in care or on a child protection plan, as well as provision for children under five is available in the associated statistical releases below.

‘Children looked after in England including adoption: 2016 to 2017’, which was published on 27 September 2017. This can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2016-to-2017.

‘Characteristics of children in need: 2016 to 2017’, which was published on 2 November 2017. This can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need-2016-to-2017.

‘Education provision: children under 5 years of age, January 2018’, which was published on 28 June 2018. This can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/education-provision-children-under-5-years-of-age-january-2018.