Less than a third of councils in England report having enough childcare for at least 75% of children with SEND in their area, charity finds

A survey by children’s charity Coram has highlighted gaps in childcare availability for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with only 29% of local authorities in England reporting having enough childcare for at least 75% of children with SEND in their area.

The Childcare Survey 2025, published last week (20 March), found that working parents of children under three in England now pay less than half of last year’s cost for a part-time nursery place, due to new entitlements introduced by the Government.

However, prices for this age group continue to rise in Scotland and Wales, with childcare costs for 3- to 4-year-olds across Great Britain up by almost 5%.

The report found that families in England who are not in work, or who do not earn enough to be eligible for the new entitlements, will pay £105 more per week than eligible families for a part-time place for a child under two, and £100 more for a two-year-old.

The charity warned there is therefore a risk that disadvantaged children are being “priced out” of accessing the same early education as those in working families.

Looking at availability for children with SEND, the report observes “continued” gaps in availability of childcare places - echoing trends from previous years of the survey.

Making recommendations in this area, the report calls on the Government to:

• ensure that new school-based nurseries are opened in areas of most need, addressing gaps in sufficiency including provision for children who are currently less well-served, such as children with SEND.
• increase the value of early years SEND funding. Ring-fence funding for early years within the additional investment for children with SEND (announced at the Autumn 2024 Budget), and the high needs block funding for early years.
• create a more flexible SEND funding system, not linked to other assessments such as Disability Living Allowance and Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
• safeguard access to provision for disadvantaged children by extending the duty to accept children with an EHCP, and to give priority admission to looked-after and previously looked-after children, to all registered early years settings as a condition of receiving government funding.

Responding to the report, Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “The free hours childcare scheme has been crucial in helping parents afford childcare.

“However, it's worrying if parents aren't able to access the entitlements. There should be a review of who is entitled to free hours, ensuring those on lower incomes do not miss out on this vital support.

“At the very least, we think the entitlements should be extended to parents and carers who are studying and/or in training, and foster carers and kinship carers, regardless of work or training status.

“The survey also correctly identifies the gaps in availability for children with SEND. As our own recent survey found, 93 per cent of councils who responded said they are concerned about ensuring sufficiency of provision for children with SEND. It's crucial that the Government addresses this as part of wider reform to the SEND system in the Spending Review.”

Lottie Winson