Preparations to extend early years entitlements to working parents in England

For DfE to increase its chances of meeting forthcoming milestones it should: A) continuously review the achievability of the September 2025 milestone and set interim performance thresholds that, once passed, would prompt consideration of corrective action, such as resetting the timetable or Programme;

For DfE to increase its chances of meeting forthcoming milestones it should: B) better use data to explore how variations in availability of early years places, parental take-up and workforce could impact future performance and costs. It should then set out contingency arrangements for plausible scenarios with clear criteria for activating these plans;

For DfE to increase its chances of meeting forthcoming milestones it should: C) consider the impact of its decision not to proceed with early testing and explore alternative ways to test feasibility, build confidence and develop early indicators of labour market impacts;

For DfE to increase its chances of meeting forthcoming milestones it should: D) establish how to monitor the relative impact of its interventions, including the funding rate on the number of early years staff, and therefore places, to determine where sources should be focused.

In the longer term: E) DfE should monitor the impact of new entitlements on quality to understand whether unintended effects, such as on the availability and quality of places for disadvantaged children or those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), need to be managed.