Childcare sufficiency assessment
The Childcare Act places a duty on local authorities in England to secure, as far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient childcare to meet the requirements of parents in their area who require childcare, and this includes securing provision of funded early education entitlement (FEEE) places, for eligible young children under compulsory school age.
Market Position Statement for FEEE places Forecast for September 2026
A Market Position Statement for FEEE places is prepared to measure sufficiency of funded places, and it is essentially a snapshot, at a point in time, based on the known and predicted supply of funded places and projected demand for the funded entitlements worked out using various sources of data such as population data, historical take-up trends, data from the department of education (DfE), data from the department of works and pensions (DWP) and application of reasonable estimates where necessary.
This Market Position Statement (MPS-Spr-26) is a forecast for September 2026 based on the supply of FEEE places in Spring 2026, predicted changes in supply and predicted demand from September 2026.
The MPS-Spr-26 will support the local authority, existing childcare providers and potential new providers to understand the market and the findings will be used as a guide to plan a strategic approach for funding and growth to be channelled in areas where significant gaps in FEEE provision are indicated.
If you have any queries or comments, please email the Early Education Development Team at EEDteam@leicester.gov.uk.