Children offered or taking up Phase 2 Flying Start childcare, by local authority and year
See what variables and values are shown in your table
| Variable | Visibility | Selected values | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data description | Shown in table | All 2 values | Change values |
| Indicator | Shown in table | All 4 values | Change values |
| Local Authority | Shown in table | All 23 values | Change values |
| Year | Shown in table | All 2 values | Change values |
Table
Standard shorthand is used in this table: [t] = total.
| Data values | Data description | Indicator | Local Authority | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,919 [t] | Number | Target number of children | Wales | 2023-24 |
| 5,522 [t] | Number | Target number of children | Wales | 2024-25 |
| 97 | Number | Target number of children | Isle of Anglesey | 2023-24 |
| 109 | Number | Target number of children | Isle of Anglesey | 2024-25 |
| 143 | Number | Target number of children | Gwynedd | 2023-24 |
| 161 | Number | Target number of children | Gwynedd | 2024-25 |
| 145 | Number | Target number of children | Conwy | 2023-24 |
| 163 | Number | Target number of children | Conwy | 2024-25 |
| 139 | Number | Target number of children | Denbighshire | 2023-24 |
| 156 | Number | Target number of children | Denbighshire | 2024-25 |
| 191 | Number | Target number of children | Flintshire | 2023-24 |
| 214 | Number | Target number of children | Flintshire | 2024-25 |
| 199 | Number | Target number of children | Wrexham | 2023-24 |
| 224 | Number | Target number of children | Wrexham | 2024-25 |
| 119 | Number | Target number of children | Powys | 2023-24 |
| 133 | Number | Target number of children | Powys | 2024-25 |
| 71 | Number | Target number of children | Ceredigion | 2023-24 |
| 80 | Number | Target number of children | Ceredigion | 2024-25 |
| 168 | Number | Target number of children | Pembrokeshire | 2023-24 |
| 187 | Number | Target number of children | Pembrokeshire | 2024-25 |
| 249 | Number | Target number of children | Carmarthenshire | 2023-24 |
| 279 | Number | Target number of children | Carmarthenshire | 2024-25 |
| 394 | Number | Target number of children | Swansea | 2023-24 |
| 443 | Number | Target number of children | Swansea | 2024-25 |
| 251 | Number | Target number of children | Neath Port Talbot | 2023-24 |
Next update expected:October 2026
Updates
- 27th October 2025
- 9th October 2025
- 8th October 2025
- Dataset first published.
Main information
- Designation
- Official statistics in development
- Data provider
- Welsh Government
- Data source
- Flying Start data monitoring returns
- Time period covered
- April 2023 to March 2025
Overview
- Summary of dataset and variables
Flying Start is the Welsh Government early years programme delivered by local authorities in Wales. It is aimed at improving outcomes for families with children under 4 years of age in some of the most disadvantaged areas of Wales.
Expansion of all four elements of Flying Start began in September 2022, it included: funded part-time, high-quality childcare for 2 year olds; parenting support; enhanced health visitor support; and support for speech, language and communication.
A separate termly table is available for data from April 2025 onwards.
- Data collection or calculation
The main source of data used in this statistical release is management information collected via the Welsh Government Flying Start Data Monitoring Return directly from local authorities. This data collection started in April 2012 to March 2013.
The Flying Start programme was expanded following the Programme for Government commitment to deliver a phased expansion of early years provision to include all 2-year-olds, with a particular emphasis on strengthening Welsh medium provision.
Phase 2 of the early years’ expansion programme focuses on delivering the childcare element of Flying Start to more 2-year-olds across Wales during 2023-24 and 2024-25 and began in April 2023.
These statistics are based on management information collected by Welsh government from local authorities to monitor the progress of the Phase 2 expansion. These statistics are official statistics in development. We are working to improve the quality of these statistics for future versions of this. They are the best estimate we have on the number of childcare places offered and taken up in April 2023 to March 24. Data have been collected for the purposes of monitoring the roll out of the Phase 2 expansion. We are working to refine and improve this data collection to be in line with the Welsh Government Flying Start Data Monitoring Return.
For 2023-24, ‘Take up’ refers to whether the offer of childcare is accepted regardless of whether the child subsequently attends childcare, though some local authorities defined take up differently.
The definition of take-up changed in 2024-25; from 2024-25 take-up is defined as when a child attends at least one session of Flying Start childcare. Comparisons with previous years are not advised as previous years defined take up as either the acceptance of an offer or attendance at the childcare setting. See quality report.
Further information on data sources and changes to Flying Start service provision because of the pandemic are detailed in the quality report.
- Statistical quality
There is no specific statistical quality issues in relation to this data. For general statistical quality issues in relation to the Flying Start dataset, see the quality report.
Published by
- Organisation
- Welsh Government
- Contact email
- stats.healthinfo@gov.wales