THOUSANDS of poorer two-year-olds across the county are missing out on free nursery places, official figures show.

Only 52 per cent of eligible toddlers in Southampton have taken up the 15 hours of free childcare each week – introduced last September – and just 60 per cent in the rest of Hampshire.

In contrast, almost all three and four-year-olds are enjoying their free hours, ahead of a promised expansion to 30 hours each week by the new Conservative government.

Campaigners blamed the much lower figures for two-year-olds on chronic underfunding, which meant many nurseries were turning away young children.

On average, nurseries were setting aside only 11 government-funded places for two-year-olds and “only a small number” were planning to expand their offers.

But the Department for Education (DfE) argued its priority was to expand free hours for older pre-school children.

A DfE spokesman said: “It is not for us to say if the parents of two-year-olds should use childcare, we are not saying they are bad parents if they choose not to.”

A £100m scheme extended free childcare to the 40 per cent of most deprived two-year-olds, from last September – 1,369 in Southampton.

The DfE statistics show only 52 per cent of those two-year-olds are receiving their free 15 hours a week, available for 38 weeks. When the policy was introduced, Councils were advised to provide enough spaces for at least 80 per cent of eligible children.

Take-up is slightly higher in Hampshire (60 per cent) and the Isle of Wight (58 per cent – the national average). The average in England is also 58 per cent.

In Southampton, 97 per cent of three and four-year-olds are receiving their free 15 hours, along with 96 per cent in Hampshire and 98 per cent in the Isle of Wight (98 per cent).

The National Day Nurseries Association warned: “Many nurseries are limiting the number of free places for two-year-olds they offer because current funding levels do not cover the cost of high-quality care. For nurseries to offer more such places, Government funding levels must rise to meet, not only the day-to-day cost of learning and care, but also the development of the sector workforce.”

A DfE spokesman said the numbers of two-year-olds in free childcare had “increased significantly”, adding: “It’s there if parents want it.

“We know there is less of an appetite than for three and four-year-olds, so the two sets of figures are not comparable.”

Councillor Dan Jeffery, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Social Care at Southampton City Council said: “We work closely with childminders, nurseries and preschools to ensure that there are enough quality places available for two-year-olds, and while we do what we can to encourage parents to make the most of this free offer, the responsibility ultimately sits with the parents themselves.

"We need more of our city’s parents to understand just how beneficial this offer could be for them; it helps children to advance educationally and socially, while freeing up parents’ time for them to work or get things done.

"I’d strongly advise parents to use the online checker on our council’s website to find out if they are entitled to a free place and then do the right thing if they are.”

The online checker is available at cloudforedu.org.uk/oeye/southampton.

More information is available at southampton.gov.uk/schools-learning/pre-school/2-year-olds.aspx