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Expansion of free early years places for two-year-olds to start in the autumn

Two thousand more two-year-olds will be eligible for a free early education place from September in plans to be announced by the Deputy Prime Minister today.

Ten more areas will be trialling more places for two-year-olds, so that some children will become eligible a year earlier than originally planned.

They are Blackpool, Cornwall, Greenwich, Kent, Lambeth, Lancashire, Newcastle, Northamptonshire, Peterborough and Rotherham.

Nick Clegg and children’s minister Sarah Teather are also holding a summit today with some of the largest childcare providers to discuss how best to expand the two-year-old scheme.

Early years organisations have previously raised concerns about whether enough providers will want to offer the places for disadvantaged two-year-olds or make capital investment to increase the size of their settings.

Longstanding issues around inadequate funding for three-and four-year-olds have meant that some early years settings are effectively subsidising free places themselves.

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