Too late and not enough for some children: early childhood education and care (ECEC) program usage patterns in the years before school in Australia

International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy

Table 1 Usage patterns for formal ECEC programs in the years before school

Years before school	State location of ECEC	Formal ECEC program usage	%	No formal ECEC program usage	%	Total	%
1 year before school	QLD	649	85.2	113	14.8	762	100
	VIC	545	94.3	33	5.7	578	100
	Total	1,194	89.1	146	10.9	1,340	100
2 years prior to school	QLD	564	71.7	223	28.3	787	100
	VIC	567	81.5	129	18.5	696	100
	Total	1,131	76.2	352	23.8	1,483	100
3 years prior to school	QLD	459	58.4	327	41.6	786	100
	VIC	440	63.1	257	36.9	697	100
	TOTAL	899	60.6	584	39.4	1,483	100
4 years prior to school	QLD	366	46.7	417	53.3	783	100
	VIC	318	46.3	369	53.7	687	100
	Total	684	46.5	786	53.5	1,470	100

NB: Data collected in this study indicate that some informal non-parental care is also common, averaging 63% across the 4 years before school and decreasing as children get older; being 75% 4 years before school reducing to 48% in the year before school.