Department for Education (DfE) Early Years Census 2026 (January)

Census Date: Thursday 15 January 2026

All providers of free early education in the private, voluntary, and independent (PVI) sectors, including childminders, must submit details of all children accessing funded provision during census week via the Waltham Forest Early Years Provider Portal. This enables the Local Authority to complete its statutory return to the Department for Education (DfE). 

Information required 

• Child level data: funded children aged 9 months to 4 years as of 31 December 2025. 
• Establishment level information:  General details about the provision; staff headcount & highest qualifications counts. 
• Aggregate child statistics: Separate funded and unfunded aggregate counts for under 1s, 1, 2, 3 and 4-year-old children. 

All data is to be submitted via the Early Years Provider Portal, as directed by the Early Years Team, including submission to the DFE EY Census 2026 Provider Data Form to collect the establishment level and aggregate child statistics information. 

Further details about the census, including guidance to support completing the DFE EY Census 2026 Provider Data Form when it goes ‘live’, and submission deadline, will be communicated to providers nearer the time of the census. 

Changes for 2026 (January) 

• New data items: Under 1’s and 1Year olds have been added to the aggregate child statistics to be collected. 
• Existing data items: Expanded Hours has been amended to allow up to 30 hours to be claimed, following the policy change from September 2025. 
• Deleted data items: None. 

Changes for 2026-2027 

• Important:  Following the usual January census, the DfE will introduce termly Early Years Census, increasing the frequency from once a year to once each term, beginning in May 2026, then scheduled for October 2026 and Spring 2027 on an on-going basis. 

Contacts  

Early Years Team - FEEEprovision@walthamforest.gov.uk 

For data collection and validation questions about pupil/child-level, establishment-level, and child aggregate statistics. 

Business Intelligence Team - edu.performance@walthamforest.gov.uk  

For questions about the Local Authority statutory return to the DfE. 

User Guides 

• Two year old eligibility checks user guide
• Early Years provider portal user guide
• 2024-25 Weeks calculator in-term joiners and leavers
• 2025-26 Weeks calculator in-term joiners and leavers
• Instructions on how to add under 2 and 2 YO to Autumn 2025 claims 

Video Resources

The following videos demonstrate how you can use the Provider Portal. 

The following videos demonstrate how you can add a record to Provider Portal and amending start and end dates within terms. 

The following videos demonstrate how you can check 30 hour eligibility codes and checking a child's date of birth not eligible for funding. 

The next two videos demonstrates how you can delete a child's record on provider portal and grace period end for 30 hour eligibility. 

The next two videos shows how you can log onto the system and check 2 year olds assessments.

The next two videos demonstrates how to can submit headcounts and update your provider record on the childcare directory.