As of 13 January, 62 per cent (124,500) of eligible two-year-olds were registered for the 15 hours, down from 69 per cent in 2020.
The statistics also show that take-up of three and four-year-old places is still not back to pre-pandemic levels, with numbers down by 5 per cent for both the universal and extended hours.
According to the Department for Education (DfE), take-up of the universal 15 hours is now at its lowest level since it was first measured in 2008.
It states that, ‘The decrease in the number and proportion of children registered to receive funded entitlements reflects the impact of Covid-19 uncertainty on supply (providers) and demand (parents) for early years provision in January 2021.
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