It has been a decade since the Government introduced funding for disadvantaged two-year-olds, a move which prompted more schools to take in this age group. Since then, the number of primary schools in England offering nursery places for funded two-year-olds has slowly increased, rising by 25 per cent over the past five years, despite the number of funded children aged two in schools remaining at around 12,000.
With falling birth rates and empty classrooms, schools are increasingly looking at ways to ensure a steady pipeline of children coming through the system. Councils in parts of England where there is a shortage of childcare provision are also submitting proposals to allow schools to admit two-year-olds in an attempt to make sure there is a sufficient supply of places.
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