Speaking at Nursery World’s two-year-olds conference yesterday, assistant director for two-year-olds and children's centres Christina Bankes said that as of May 2014, there were 116,000 children in two-year-old places, while projections for September 2014 are 180,000. This means 64,000 children will have to be found a place in the next two months.
Ms Bankes said, ‘We don’t know what will happen. We are very anxious to see those projections are reached but I don’t underestimate the challenge in getting there.’
The most progress in reaching eligible two-year-olds is happening in the south west, while London is lagging behind. In total, 42 per cent of children across the country are receiving the free childcare they will legally be entitled to in September, Ms Bankes said.
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