The Department for Education estimates that on 29 April, 897,000 children were attending early years settings, about 55 per cent of the number of children who usually attend childcare in term time.
However, due to many children attending EY settings on a part-time basis, the DfE said it would not expect all children to be in attendance on the day of the data collection.
On a typical day in the summer term the department said it expects attendance to be 1,154,000, due to different and part-time patterns of childcare during the week. It estimates that the 897,000 children currently attending early years settings is approximately 78 per cent of the usual daily level.
The numbers have risen slightly since the previous week. Data collected on 22 April found that 839,000 children were in attendance, which is about 52 per cent of the number of children who usually attend childcare in term time. Because of the reasons given above regarding data collection, the DfE estimated that this number was approximately 73 per cent of the usual daily level.
A spokesperson told Nursery World the DfE would expect attendance over the summer term to be higher than the spring term but not in the first week, with a gradual increase in attendance over the coming weeks, as the figures begin to stabilise.
Commenting, Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said, ‘Businesses cannot operate with these kind of occupancy levels and be sustainable as well as providing high quality care. Our recent survey undertaken with Education Policy Institute found that in the last lockdown, 72 per cent of providers had to close at some point and 26 per cent had done so five times or more.
‘The majority felt that it could be up to three years to get back to business-as-usual, with 6 per cent suggesting even longer.
'The summer term is supposed to be the busiest time for nurseries before children start to leave to join school. If these lower attendance figures at the beginning of the summer term do not rise significantly, it’s a really worrying picture for the future sustainability of nurseries and other providers.'
An estimated 55,000 early years settings were open on 29 April 2021, according to the statistics. This represents 82 per cent of all settings, with 7 per cent closed and 12 per cent unknown. This is a similar number to the previous week, which estimated that 81 per cent of settings were open.
The latest Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak statistics said that the early years local authority survey will now move to fortnightly, after reviewing feedback from local authorities and other users, until a further review later this summer. This means that the next attendance data for early years settings will be collected on 13 May and published on 18 May.
Schools
Meanwhile, the latest school attendance figures have dropped since the previous week, when attendance was at the highest it had ever been at any point during the pandemic, at 94 per cent on 22 April.
Commenting on the latest school attendance for 29 April, which has fallen to 93 per cent, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said, 'The drop in attendance this week shows that many children continue to have their education disturbed by the pandemic. Schools are working hard to deliver complex safety arrangements whilst also providing a settled learning environment for pupils. But schools cannot do this alone. As society begins to look to lessen restrictions we must take care not to move too quickly and risk the progress made.'
A DfE spokesperson said, 'Attendance in schools remains consistently high, showing the continued importance of the rapid testing programme for all staff, families and secondary pupils in helping keep the virus out of classrooms.
'It is vital pupils and staff continue to test regularly as we continue on the roadmap back to greater normality.'
