Financing for equity in pre-primary education
WALES
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
The official entrance age to pre-primary education is 3 years old. At least two years of free pre-primary education are granted in legal frameworks. As of 2015, the net enrolment rate for pre-primary education in the United Kingdom was 96.79%.
Governance
In Wales, education is overseen by the Department for Education and Skills. Local Education Authorities (LEAs) hold strategic responsibility for early childhood education within their jurisdictions, managing local planning, funding allocation, and implementation of early years policies.
Tuition-free status
Public pre-primary education is tuition-free according to national laws and policies through the universal Foundation Phase Nursery entitlement, providing all 3- and 4-year-olds with a minimum of 10 hours weekly of funded early education from the term following their 3rd birthday until school entry, delivered via approved settings including council nursery classes, Cylchoedd Meithrin, and registered playgroups delivering the Curriculum for Wales.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
In Wales, the majority of funds allocated to Local Education Authorities (LEAs) come through the Revenue Support Grant (RSG). Pre-16 education is supported specifically through the Local Education Grant, which consists of four funding elements, including School Standards funding. This element provides additional resources for early childhood education, accounting for pre-primary pupils. Under the 2025–26 national formula, each nursery learner receives an additional GBP 613.09 on top of the standard GBP 89.64 per learner. Reception learners receive an additional GBP 1,226.18, while Year 1 and Year 2 learners receive an additional GBP 613.09 each.
2. Education resources to institutions
Local authorities in Wales allocate funding for pre-primary education, including maintained nursery schools and nursery classes within primary schools, through the Individual Schools Budget (ISB) under the 2010 School Funding (Wales) Regulations. At least 70% of the ISB is distributed as budget shares based on pupil numbers, with adjustments permitted for factors such as age, special educational needs, hours of attendance, and Welsh-medium provision, while the remaining funding covers discretionary costs including maintenance, meals, and staff salaries. Funding is governed by a local funding formula and underpinned by the Scheme for Financing Schools, which sets out financial management requirements. The Pupil Development Grant, part of the Local Authority Education Grant, is also distributed via local authorities to support eligible learners, and nursery provision outside maintained settings is funded through the Early Years Education Grant.
3. Education resources to students and families
The Flying Start programme supports families with children under four in disadvantaged areas of Wales. It provides part-time childcare for 2- to 3-year-olds and is geographically targeted using benefit data to identify areas with the highest proportion of children aged 0–3 living in income support households. All local authorities receive financial support to expand Flying Start provision. Eligible children are entitled to 12.5 hours of childcare per week for 39 weeks of the year. Between 2023 and 2025, approximately 9,500 children were expected to benefit from the programme.
The Childcare Offer for Wales guarantees 30 hours per week of funded early education and childcare for 48 weeks annually. Families qualify if their gross income does not exceed GBP 100,000 per year.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
The Child Benefit is a universal programme that provides financial support to families with children under 16, or under 20 if they remain in approved education or training. Introduced through the 1975 Child Benefit Bill, it merged the previous family allowance and child tax allowance benefits. Families receive GBP 26.05 per week for the eldest or only child and GBP 17.25 for each additional child, along with national insurance credits. Households with an individual income above GBP 60,000 in the 2024-25 tax year may need to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge, though families can opt out of receiving payments to avoid the charge.
