Childcare and early years

Finding childcare, running a childcare business, financial support, data collection, local authority obligations.

Services

  • Check if your council offers free early education and childcare

  • Complain about a school - complaints process, when to complain to the Department for Education, the Education Funding Agency or Ofsted.

  • Employer and employee guide to unpaid parental leave - eligibility, how much leave can be taken and notice periods, postponing leave

  • Apply for a place in a nursery school for children under 5 through your local council

  • Search for Ofsted inspection reports for childminders and childcare providers, schools, colleges, further education providers, children and families services

Guidance and regulation

News and communications

Research and statistics

Policy papers and consultations

Transparency and freedom of information releases