Expansion to early childcare entitlements: Childcare Experiences Survey
Spring term 2025/26 Second Wave

Description

The publication methodology, available on the publication report, should be referenced alongside this data. It provides methodological information on the survey design, sample, fieldwork, data analysis, interpretation and definitions used.

Coverage

This publication provides information on a survey of parents [who received a childcare code for their children aged 9 months to 2 years]. It covers parents’ experiences finding, applying for and using childcare provision and changes to their employment, including:

1. Household characteristics of survey respondents
2. Respondents' experiences of the entitlement application process
3. Barriers to accessing childcare such as waiting lists, challenges when applying and restrictions from providers
4. Types of childcare used, reasons for using childcare and satisfaction with provision
5. Changing costs of childcare and additional charges respondents pay to providers
6. Changes in respondents' employment patterns and childcare usage following the entitlements expansion

Data files

Section 2 - Ease of the working families childcare entitlement process

Filename: ease_of_application_process.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: The extent respondents agreed the entitlement application process was easy to follow, broken down by several demographics.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name      |  Variable description
-----------------  |  -----------------------------------------------
demographic_group  |  Demographic group
easy_application   |  Whether agree that application process was easy
percent            |  Proportion of respondents

Footnotes:

1. Respondents were asked to indicate whether any children in their household have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).  Those who answered "Yes" for any of their children, even if not the child the entitlements were claimed for, are labelled "has SEND children".
2. For the majority of respondents who were claiming entitlements for one child, the age of the oldest child refers to the age of the child receiving government-funded childcare.  For respondents claiming entitlements for more than one child, it refers to the age of the oldest child for whom the working families' entitlement was applied.  The child's age was recorded at the time of the survey. Some children who were 2 years old when the entitlement was applied for may have turned 3 by the time of the survey.
3. Respondents were asked on a 5-point Likert scale to what extent they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: “The application process for the working families childcare entitlement was easy to follow”.


Section 2 - Ease of the working families childcare entitlement process by region

Filename: ease_of_application_process_region.csv
Geographic levels: National; Regional
Time period: 2025
Content summary: The extent respondents agreed the entitlement application process was easy to follow, broken down by regions in England.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name     |  Variable description
----------------  |  -----------------------------------------------
easy_application  |  Whether agree that application process was easy
percent           |  Proportion of respondents

Footnotes:

1. Respondents were asked on a 5-point Likert scale to what extent they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: “The application process for the working families childcare entitlement was easy to follow”.


Section 2 - Accessing the 15 hours funded working families childcare entitlement

Filename: whether_accessing_entitlements.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Whether respondents were accessing the 15 hours working parents childcare entitlement, broken down by several demographics.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name          |  Variable description
---------------------  |  -------------------------------------------------------
accessing_entitlement  |  Whether accessing 15 hours working parents entitlements
demographic_group      |  Demographic group
percent                |  Proportion of respondents

Footnotes:

1. Respondents were asked to indicate whether any children in their household have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).  Those who answered "Yes" for any of their children, even if not the child the entitlements were claimed for, are labelled "has SEND children".


Section 2 - Accessing the 15 hours funded working families childcare entitlement by region

Filename: whether_accessing_entitlements_region.csv
Geographic levels: National; Regional
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Whether respondents were accessing the 15 hours working parents childcare entitlement, broken down by regions in England.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name          |  Variable description
---------------------  |  -------------------------------------------------------
accessing_entitlement  |  Whether accessing 15 hours working parents entitlements
percent                |  Proportion of respondents


Section 2 - Reasons for not accessing the 15 hours funded working families childcare entitlement

Filename: reasons_not_used_entitlement.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Reasons respondents were not using their 15 hours childcare entitlement.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                |  Variable description
---------------------------  |  -------------------------------------------
demographic_group            |  Demographic group
percent                      |  Proportion of respondents
reason_not_used_entitlement  |  Reason not used working parents entitlement

Footnotes:

1. Percentages do not sum to 100, as respondents could select multiple options for this question.


Section 3 - Waiting lists

Filename: waitlists.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Whether children were placed on a waitlist before accessing entitlements, or are currently on a waiting list (for respondents not currently claiming their entitlement), broken down by several demographics.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name       |  Variable description
------------------  |  -----------------------------------------------------------
demographic_group   |  Demographic group
percent             |  Proportion of respondents
placed_on_waitlist  |  Whether placed on waiting list before accessing entitlement

Footnotes:

1. Respondents were asked to indicate whether any children in their household have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).  Those who answered "Yes" for any of their children, even if not the child the entitlements were claimed for, are labelled "has SEND children".
2. If the child receiving government funded childcare was on a waiting list at the time of the survey, they may or may not still be on that waiting list, depending on whether they are now accessing the entitlement.


Section 3 - Challenges finding a childcare place

Filename: challenges_finding_childcare_place.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Challenges experienced when finding a childcare place, broken down by several demographics.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name             |  Variable description
------------------------  |  ------------------------------------------------
challenges_finding_place  |  Challenges experienced finding a childcare place
demographic_group         |  Demographic group
percent                   |  Proportion of respondents

Footnotes:

1. Respondents were asked to indicate whether any children in their household have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).  Those who answered "Yes" for any of their children, even if not the child the entitlements were claimed for, are labelled "has SEND children".
2. Percentages do not sum to 100, as respondents could select multiple options for this question.


Section 3 - Restrictions on usage of funded childcare hours

Filename: restrictions_on_hours.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Whether there are any restrictions from respondents' main provider about when they can use their funded hours. Data is given for all respondents (Total) and broken down by main childcare type.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                |  Variable description
---------------------------  |  ----------------------------------------------------------
demographic_group            |  Demographic group
percent                      |  Proportion of respondents
restrictions_on_using_hours  |  Any provider restrictions on when funded hours can be used


Section 3 - What restrictions faced on usage of childcare hours

Filename: what_restrictions_on_hours.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Whether the restrictions from respondents' main provider about when they can use their funded hours.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                |  Variable description
---------------------------  |  ------------------------------------------------------
demographic_group            |  Demographic group
percent                      |  Proportion of respondents
restrictions_on_using_hours  |  Provider restrictions on when funded hours can be used


Section 4 - Childcare arrangements used

Filename: childcare_types_used.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Proportions of respondents reporting using each type of childcare arrangement.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name         |  Variable description
--------------------  |  ------------------------------
childcare_types_used  |  Types of childcare arrangement
demographic_group     |  Demographic group
percent               |  Proportion of respondents

Footnotes:

1. Percentages do not sum to 100, as respondents could select multiple options for this question.
2. Percentages shown as 0% may represent true values less than 0.5% that have been rounded down.  For more precise figures, please download the table via the Export options link on the Table tab above.


Section 4 - Factors influencing respondent's decision to use formal childcare

Filename: reasons_using_formal_childcare.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Reasons respondents use formal childcare. Data is given for all respondents (Total) and broken down by household income.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                |  Variable description
---------------------------  |  ----------------------------------
demographic_group            |  Demographic group
percent                      |  Proportion of respondents
reason_use_formal_childcare  |  Reasons for using formal childcare

Footnotes:

1. Percentages do not sum to 100, as respondents could select multiple options for this question.


Section 4 - Hours per week spent in formal childcare

Filename: weekly_childcare_hours.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Average hours of formal childcare used in a typical week. Data is given for all respondents (Total) and broken down by several demographics.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name        |  Variable description
-------------------  |  ---------------------------------------
demographic_group    |  Demographic group
mean_weekly_hours    |  Mean hours of childcare used per week
median_weekly_hours  |  Median hours of childcare used per week

Footnotes:

1. Respondents were asked to indicate whether any children in their household have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).  Those who answered "Yes" for any of their children, even if not the child the entitlements were claimed for, are labelled "has SEND children".
2. Due to the extremely small sample size, respondents using more than 70 hours of childcare per week were considered outliers and excluded from analysis.


Section 4 - Hours per week spent in formal childcare by region

Filename: weekly_childcare_hours_region.csv
Geographic levels: National; Regional
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Average hours of formal childcare used in a typical week. Data is given for all respondents (Total) and broken down by regions in England.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name        |  Variable description
-------------------  |  ---------------------------------------
mean_weekly_hours    |  Mean hours of childcare used per week
median_weekly_hours  |  Median hours of childcare used per week

Footnotes:

1. Due to the extremely small sample size, respondents using more than 70 hours of childcare per week were considered outliers and excluded from analysis.


Section 4 - Tax free childcare usage

Filename: tax_free_childcare_usage.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Whether respondents use tax free childcare.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name      |  Variable description
-----------------  |  -------------------------------
demographic_group  |  Demographic group
percent            |  Proportion of respondents
use_tfc            |  Whether uses tax free childcare


Section 4 - Tax free childcare change in amount used

Filename: tax_free_childcare_change.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Whether respondents will change the amount of tax free childcare they use.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name          |  Variable description
---------------------  |  --------------------------------------------------
change_amount_tfc_use  |  Will change the amount of tax free childcare used?
demographic_group      |  Demographic group
percent                |  Proportion of respondents

Footnotes:

1. Percentages shown as 0% may represent true values less than 0.5% that have been rounded down.  For more precise figures, please download the table via the Export options link on the Table tab above.


Section 4 - Satisfaction with number of hours offered by childcare provider

Filename: satisfaction_with_hours_offered.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: How satisfied respondents were with the number of hours offered by their main childcare provider. Data is given for all respondents (Total) and broken down by main childcare type.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                    |  Variable description
-------------------------------  |  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
demographic_group                |  Demographic group
percent                          |  Proportion of respondents
satisfaction_with_hours_offered  |  Satisfaction with the number of childcare hours offered by main provider


Section 4 - Satisfaction with opening hours of childcare provider

Filename: satisfaction_with_opening_hours.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: How satisfied respondents were with the opening hours of their main childcare provider. Data is given for all respondents (Total) and broken down by main childcare type.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                    |  Variable description
-------------------------------  |  ------------------------------------------------
demographic_group                |  Demographic group
percent                          |  Proportion of respondents
satisfaction_with_opening_hours  |  Satisfaction with opening hours of main provider

Footnotes:

1. Percentages shown as 0% may represent true values less than 0.5% that have been rounded down.  For more precise figures, please download the table via the Export options link on the Table tab above.


Section 4 - Satisfaction with days per week offered by childcare provider

Filename: satisfaction_with_days_offered.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: How satisfied respondents were with the days per week offered by their main childcare provider. Data is given for all respondents (Total) and broken down by main childcare type.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                   |  Variable description
------------------------------  |  --------------------------------------------------------
demographic_group               |  Demographic group
percent                         |  Proportion of respondents
satisfaction_with_days_offered  |  Satisfaction with days per week offered by main provider


Section 4 - Satisfaction with weeks per year offered by childcare provider

Filename: satisfaction_with_weeks_offered.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: How satisfied respondents were with the weeks per year offered by their main childcare provider. Data is given for all respondents (Total) and broken down by main childcare type.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                    |  Variable description
-------------------------------  |  ---------------------------------------------------------
demographic_group                |  Demographic group
percent                          |  Proportion of respondents
satisfaction_with_weeks_offered  |  Satisfaction with weeks per year offered by main provider

Footnotes:

1. Percentages shown as 0% may represent true values less than 0.5% that have been rounded down.  For more precise figures, please download the table via the Export options link on the Table tab above.


Section 5 - Change in childcare costs since entitlements introduced in April 2024

Filename: change_in_childcare_costs.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: How respondents' childcare costs changed since the entitlements were introduced in April 2024. Data is broken down by main childcare type and household income.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name              |  Variable description
-------------------------  |  ------------------------------------------
change_in_childcare_costs  |  Change in childcare costs since April 2024
demographic_group          |  Demographic group
percent                    |  Proportion of respondents


Section 5 - Change in childcare costs since entitlements introduced in April 2024 by region

Filename: change_in_childcare_costs_region.csv
Geographic levels: National; Regional
Time period: 2025
Content summary: How respondents' childcare costs changed since the entitlements were introduced in April 2024. Data is broken down by regions in England.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name              |  Variable description
-------------------------  |  ------------------------------------------
change_in_childcare_costs  |  Change in childcare costs since April 2024
percent                    |  Proportion of respondents


Section 5 - Additional extra charges paid to providers

Filename: extra_provider_charges.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Proportion of respondents who paid various types of additional childcare charges.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name      |  Variable description
-----------------  |  --------------------------------------------
charge_type        |  Whether charge must be paid to take up place
demographic_group  |  Demographic group
extra_charge       |  Additional charges from childcare provider
percent            |  Proportion of respondents

Footnotes:

1. Percentages do not sum to 100, as respondents could select multiple options for this question.
2. Fixed extra charges are charges that a provider required respondents to pay to take up a childcare place.


Section 6 - Changes in working hours since respondents started claiming working families entitlements

Filename: change_in_work_hours.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: How respondents' working hours have changed since respondents started claiming working families entitlements, broken down by several demographics.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name         |  Variable description
--------------------  |  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
change_in_work_hours  |  Change in working hours since respondent started claiming entitlements
demographic_group     |  Demographic group
percent               |  Proportion of respondents

Footnotes:

1. Respondents were asked to indicate whether any children in their household have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).  Those who answered "Yes" for any of their children, even if not the child the entitlements were claimed for, are labelled "has SEND children".


Section 6 - Changes in working hours since respondents started claiming working families entitlements by region

Filename: change_in_work_hours_region.csv
Geographic levels: National; Regional
Time period: 2025
Content summary: How respondents' working hours have changed since respondents started claiming working families entitlements, broken down by regions in England.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name         |  Variable description
--------------------  |  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
change_in_work_hours  |  Change in working hours since respondent started claiming entitlements
percent               |  Proportion of respondents


Section 6 - Influence of the expansion to Early Years childcare entitlements on respondent working hours

Filename: influence_of_entitlement_on_change_in_work_hours.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: How influential respondents thought the introduction of the childcare entitlements were in their decision to change their working hours, broken down by several demographics.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                                |  Variable description
-------------------------------------------  |  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
demographic_group                            |  Demographic group
percent                                      |  Proportion of respondents
work_hours_change_influenced_by_entitlement  |  Influence of entitlements on change in work hours since respondent started claiming entitlements

Footnotes:

1. Respondents were asked to indicate whether any children in their household have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).  Those who answered "Yes" for any of their children, even if not the child the entitlements were claimed for, are labelled "has SEND children".
2. Due to the extremely small sample size, respondents using more than 70 hours of childcare per week were considered outliers and excluded from analysis.
3. Percentages shown as 0% may represent true values less than 0.5% that have been rounded down.  For more precise figures, please download the table via the Export options link on the Table tab above.


Section 6 - Plans to change childcare hours used once 30 hours available from September 2025

Filename: plans_to_change_childcare_hours_sept_2025.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Respondents' plans to change the number of hours of childcare they use once the 30 hours entitlement is available from September 2025.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                     |  Variable description
--------------------------------  |  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
change_childcare_hours_sept_2025  |  Planned change in childcare hours once 30 hours entitlement available from September 2025
demographic_group                 |  Demographic group
percent                           |  Proportion of respondents


Section 6 - Reasons to change childcare hours used from September 2025

Filename: reasons_to_change_childcare_hours_sept_2025.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2025
Content summary: Respondents' main reasons for wishing to change the number of hours of childcare they use from September 2025, broken down by household income.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                          |  Variable description
-------------------------------------  |  ---------------------------------------------------------------------
demographic_group                      |  Demographic group
percent                                |  Proportion of respondents
reason_plan_to_change_childcare_hours  |  Reasons for planning to change childcare hours used in September 2025

Footnotes:

1. Percentages do not sum to 100, as respondents could select multiple options for this question.
