SEN - 3 & 4 Year Old Universal Entitlement
North Tyneside has a range of support available for 3 and 4 year olds with SEN, such as the Early Years Inclusion Fund, Disability Access Fund and Early Years Inclusion Service. The table below shows the number and proportion of children accessing their government funded entitlements between 2020 and 2024.
|
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EHC Plans - Number of children |
42 |
46 |
72 |
82 |
58 |
| EHC Plans - % of total funded children |
0.9% |
1.0% |
1.6% |
1.8% |
1.3% |
| SEN Support – Number of children |
300 |
275 |
290 |
324 |
440 |
| SEN Support – % of total funded children |
6.6% |
6.1% |
6.5% |
7.1% |
10.1% |
| All SEN Children - Number |
342 |
321 |
362 |
406 |
498 |
| All SEN Children – % of total funded children |
7.5% |
7.2% |
8.1% |
9.0% |
11.5% |
The number and percentage of children accessing their universal 3 & 4 year old entitlement while receiving SEN support is at the highest level since 2018. The number of universal 3 & 4 year old entitlement children in receipt of an EHC plan has dropped since last year. The percentage of children receiving SEN support increased from 2023 levels. The local authority will continue to review its support to ensure we are meeting the needs of children with SEN and their families.
The table below show the percentage of universal entitlement funded 3&4 year old children receiving SEN support in North Tyneside, compared to the England average.
|
North Tyneside |
England |
|||||
| Funded Universal Entitlement 3 & 4 Year Olds: |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
| with EHC Plans - % of total funded children |
1.6% |
1.8% |
1.3% |
1.1% |
1.3% |
1.6% |
| with SEN Support – % of total funded children |
6.5% |
7.1% |
10.1% |
5.9% |
6.7% |
7.3% |
| with any SEN as % of total funded children |
8.1% |
9.0% |
11.5% |
7.0% |
8.0% |
8.9% |
The percentage of children accessing their universal 3 / 4 year old entitlement receiving SEN support in North Tyneside is higher than the national average as is the percentage with any SEN. The percentage of children with EHCPs is slightly lower than the national average.
Percentage of Children Accessing Their Universal 3 & 4 Year Old Entitlement by Ofsted Grade of Provider (2023 Census)
Access to high quality childcare places is particularly important during the critical early years of a child’s life. The table below shows the breakdown of children attending universal 3&4 year old entitlement places by the Ofsted rating of the provider.
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding |
41% |
38% |
34% |
34% |
24% |
23% |
| Good |
57% |
59% |
63% |
64% |
73% |
72% |
| Requires Improvement |
3% |
3% |
3% |
2% |
3% |
3% |
| Inadequate |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
1% |
Almost all children accessed their universal 3 & 4 year old entitlement in a North Tyneside setting rated ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ by Ofsted. The proportion accessing their entitlement in an ‘outstanding’ setting has declined from 34% in 2022 to 23% in 2024. A small proportion are accessing their provision in settings rated as ‘requires improvement’ or Inadequate in 2024.
The table below shows how North Tyneside compares to the England and North East average, for the percentage of children accessing their universal 3 & 4 year old entitlement by Ofsted rating.
|
England 2024 |
North East 2024 |
North Tyneside 2024 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding |
19% |
21% |
23% |
| Good |
75% |
75% |
72% |
| Requires Improvement |
4% |
4% |
3% |
| Inadequate |
1% |
0% |
1% |
North Tyneside has a higher proportion of children accessing their universal 3 & 4 year old entitlement in provision rated ‘outstanding’ and a lower proportion in settings rated requires improvement, than the North East and England average. Overall, North Tyneside is broadly in line with national and regional averages.
Universal 3 / 4 Year Old Entitlement Uptake by Ethnicity
The table below shows the ethnicity of children taking their universal 3 and 4 year old entitlement in 2024.
| Number Universal 3&4 Year Old 2024 | % Universal 3&4 Year Old 2024 | |
| Asian / Asian British |
175 |
4.0% |
| Black/African/Caribbean/Black British |
92 |
2.1% |
| Mixed / Multiple Ethnic Groups |
142 |
3.3% |
| White |
3825 |
88.0% |
| Other ethnic group |
40 |
0.9% |
| Refused / not obtained |
75 |
1.7% |
| Total Children |
4,536 |
Most children accessing the entitlement are white British (88%), with Asian the next biggest ethnic group (4%).
The table below shows the ethnicity of children taking their universal 3 and 4 year old entitlement between 2021 and 2023.
| Universal 3&4 Year old – % of total 2022 | Universal 3&4 Year old – % of total 2023 | Universal 3&4 Year old – % of total 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian / Asian British |
4.0% |
3.5% |
4.0% |
||||
| Black/African/Caribbean/Black British |
1.0% |
1.0% |
2.1% |
||||
| Mixed / Multiple Ethnic Groups |
3.0% |
3.1% |
3.3% |
||||
| White |
90.0% |
89.7% |
88.0% |
||||
| Other ethnic group |
1.0% |
0.8% |
0.9% |
||||
| Refused / not obtained |
1.0% |
1.8% |
1.7% |
||||
The ethnicity of children taking up the universal 3 & 4 year old entitlement is broadly similar to the previous year.
3 and 4 Year Old Universal Entitlement – Percentage Take up by Provider
The graph below shows the percentage of providers, by type, who were delivering universal 3 & 4 year old places in 2023.
Private and voluntary childcare providers and state funded schools are the biggest group of providers.
The chart below shows the percentage of universal 3 & 4 year old places by provider type, as of January 2023.
The majority of universal 3 & 4 year old places are delivered in state funded school nursery provision. The next biggest provider of universal 3 & 4 year old places is the private and voluntary sector. There has been a slight increase in the proportion attending state-funded schools in 2024.
