The Department for Education have published findings from an independent evaluation of the first year of the national rollout undertaken by Frontier Economics, researchers from the University of East London and NatCen Social Research.
The evaluation had two key aims:
- to understand the implementation of the policy and to consider whether the policy is working as intended;
- to understand the impact of the policy and to consider whether it is achieving its objectives of supporting working families and helping parents to work or work more hours should they wish to do so.
The evaluation collected data from 12 local authorities, which included surveys, interviews and census returns. The local authorities were selected to have a balanced mix of local childcare provision, early years policy (such as funding rates), and regional and socio-economic context.
The report can be accessed here.