Bethnal Green East in Tower Hamlets Early years summary

Local area: Bethnal Green East

Local authority: Tower Hamlets

Summary

Bethnal Green East (E02000870) is part of Tower Hamlets local authority (view on map). Bethnal Green East has an approximate population of 6,400 people, of which 6.0% are children 5 years old and under. It is classified as "urban: nearer to a major town or city".

Bethnal Green East neighbours Bethnal Green North East, Bethnal Green North West, Mile End West, and Bethnal Green Central.

Headlines for early years in Tower Hamlets

The data below is shown at local area level

  • 73% of children are living in low-income families, ranking it in the 10% most deprived areas (based on income deprivation among children in England)

The data below is only available at local authority level

  • 0.3% of pupils under 1 are classed as 'children looked after' in Tower Hamlets compared to 0.6% nationally. This places it in the bottom 10% of areas with 'children looked after' in this age group
  • 6.0% of pupils are receiving SEN support in state-funded settings in Tower Hamlets compared to 4.5% nationally. This places it among the top 10% of areas with pupils receiving support
  • 2.6% of pupils in state-funded settings in Tower Hamlets have an EHC plan compared to 1.4% nationally. This places it among the top 10% of areas with pupils that have an EHC plan in state-funded settings
  • 2.8% of pupils in Tower Hamlets have been issued an EHC plan from their local authority compared to 1.6% nationally. This places it among the top 10% of areas with pupils that have an EHC plan
  • In Tower Hamlets, 67% of the funded places for 3-year-olds have been taken up, which is lower than the national at 88%. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas
  • In Tower Hamlets, 78% of the funded places for 4-year-olds have been taken up, which is lower than the national at 92%. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas
  • The children’s overweight and obesity measure is 19% in Tower Hamlets compared with 24% nationally. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas with children who are overweight or obese
Guidance and data sources

Local area pages are based on the middle-layer super output areas (MSOAs) distributed across the country. MSOAs comprise between 2,000 and 6,000 households and have a resident population of, generally, between 5,000 and 15,000 people. MSOAs fit within local authorities. For each area, descriptive statistics are compared with local authority and national averages. For more information about MSOAs, please visit the Office for National Statistics website.

The data displayed is sourced from:

Deprivation

Bethnal Green East is the 19th least deprived area in Tower Hamlets (out of 34) with 73% of children living in low-income families, compared to 71% across Tower Hamlets and 38% nationally.

73% of children are living in low-income families, ranking it in the 10% most deprived areas (based on income deprivation among children in England).

Data source

Provider information

Registered childcare providers

Bethnal Green East has 5 registered childcare providers.

Type Number in Bethnal Green East
All childcare providers 5
Childminders 2
Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care 3

There have been no inspections of childcare providers in Bethnal Green East since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.

Data source

Summary of Ofsted findings

Summary of Ofsted findings

Inspection of Tower Hamlets’s local authority children’s services

These inspections focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements:

  • to help and protect children, and enable families to stay together and get the help they need
  • the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home
  • the arrangements for permanence for children who are looked after, in stable, loving homes, including adoption
  • the experiences and progress of care leavers.
Inspection type Inspection start date Overall effectiveness Impact of leaders Help and protection Children in care Care leavers
ILACS Short Inspection 11 November 2024 Outstanding Outstanding Good Good Outstanding
ILACS Standard Inspection 10 June 2019 Good Good Good Good No outcome

Data source

Area SEND inspection of Tower Hamlets Local Area Partnership

The purpose of an area SEND inspection is to:

  • provide an independent, external evaluation of the effectiveness of the local area partnership’s arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
  • where appropriate, recommend what the local area partnership should do to improve the arrangements.
Inspection outcome

Tower Hamlets was last inspected on 23 June 2025.

The local area partnership's arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements.

They were given no areas for priority action.

The next full area SEND inspection will be within approximately 3 years.

Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) ask that the local area partnership updates and publishes its strategic plan based on the recommendations set out in this report.

Data source

Joint targeted area inspection of Tower Hamlets local authority

The agencies for these inspections can include the police, children’s social care, probation services, education and relevant health services. Inspectors will also evaluate how local agencies work with education and childcare providers. The focus of these inspections is how effectively the local safeguarding partners work together at the practice and strategic levels.

Theme Inspection start date Link
Sexual abuse in the family 9 March 2026 Link

Data source

Early years population

Contents

Percentage of Bethnal Green East population by age group

Table showing percentage of Bethnal Green East population by age group

% in Bethnal Green East % in Tower Hamlets % National
Age 5 and under 6.0% 6.7% 6.4%
Under 1 year 1.0% 1.3% 1.0%
1 year 0.9% 1.1% 1.0%
2 years 1.0% 1.2% 1.1%
3 years 1.1% 1.0% 1.1%
4 years 1.1% 1.0% 1.1%
5 years 0.9% 1.0% 1.1%

Data source

Local authority context

Early years pupil premium

In Tower Hamlets, 5.3% of children are receiving the early years pupil premium, compared to 5.1% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of children in receipt of early years pupil premium

Table showing the percentage of children in receipt of early years pupil premium

Number in Tower Hamlets % in Tower Hamlets % National
Receiving pupil premium 1,177 5.3% 5.1%

Data source

Children looked after

The percentage of 'children looked after' in Tower Hamlets is 0.3% for under 1 year olds and 0.3% for 1 to 4 year olds. The national average is 0.6% for under 1 year olds and 0.4% for 1 to 4 year olds.

0.3% of pupils under 1 are classed as 'children looked after' in Tower Hamlets compared to 0.6% nationally. This places it in the bottom 10% of areas with 'children looked after' in this age group.

Contents

Table showing percentage of children looked after in Tower Hamlets

Number in Tower Hamlets % in Tower Hamlets % National
Children looked after (under 1 year) 14 0.3% 0.6%
Children looked after (aged 1 to 4 years) 39 0.3% 0.4%

Percentage of children looked after in Tower Hamlets

Data source

Special educational needs and disabilities in state-funded schools

This data is taken from the school census data for children aged 5 and under with special educational needs and disabilities in state-funded settings.

In Tower Hamlets, 6.0% of children aged 5 and under receive SEN support in state-funded settings and 2.6% have an EHC plan, compared to 4.5% and 1.4% nationally.

6.0% of pupils are receiving SEN support in state-funded settings in Tower Hamlets compared to 4.5% nationally. This places it among the top 10% of areas with pupils receiving support. In addition, 2.6% of pupils in state-funded settings in Tower Hamlets have an EHC plan compared to 1.4% nationally. This places it among the top 10% of areas with pupils that have an EHC plan in state-funded settings.

Contents

Percentage of children with SEND in state-funded settings by age group

Table showing percentage of children with SEND in state-funded settings by age group

Number in Tower Hamlets % in Tower Hamlets % National
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 1,331 6.0% 4.5%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (under 2 years) 51 0.4% 0.3%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (3 years) 306 8.8% 3.7%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (4 years) 464 14% 9.2%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (5 years) 510 16% 12%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 582 2.6% 1.4%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (under 2 years) 2 0% 0%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (3 years) 57 1.6% 0.3%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (4 years) 206 6.1% 3.1%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (5 years) 317 10% 4.8%

Data source

Education, health and care plans

This data is taken from the local authority level data for children aged 5 and under issued with an education, health and care (EHC) plan in Tower Hamlets.

In Tower Hamlets, 2.8% of children aged 5 and under have an EHC plan, compared to 1.6% nationally.

2.8% of pupils in Tower Hamlets have been issued an EHC plan from their local authority compared to 1.6% nationally. This places it among the top 10% of areas with pupils that have an EHC plan.

Contents

Percentage of children with an EHCP in Tower Hamlets by age group

Table showing percentage of children with an EHCP in Tower Hamlets by age group

Number in Tower Hamlets % in Tower Hamlets % National
Total: Children with an EHCP (age 5 and under) 614 2.8% 1.6%
Total: Children with an EHCP (under 2 years) 9 0.1% 0%
Total: Children with an EHCP (3 years) 69 2.0% 0.8%
Total: Children with an EHCP (4 years) 210 6.2% 3.4%
Total: Children with an EHCP (5 years) 326 10% 5.0%

Data source

Early years funded takeup

In Tower Hamlets, take-up of funded early years places is 59% for 2-year-olds, 67% for 3-year-olds, and 78% for 4-year-olds, compared to 72%, 88%, and 93% nationally.

In Tower Hamlets, 67% of the funded places for 3-year-olds have been taken up, which is lower than the national at 88%. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas. In Tower Hamlets, 78% of the funded places for 4-year-olds have been taken up, which is lower than the national at 92%. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas.

Contents

Percentage of eligible children taking up funded early years places

Table showing percentage of eligible children taking up funded early years places

Funded early years places for 2-year-olds Number of eligible 2-year-olds % of population aged 2 % take-up of funded places
Tower Hamlets 1,080 28% 59%
National 119,598 19% 72%
Funded early years places for 3-year-olds Number of eligible 3-year-olds % of population aged 3 % take-up of funded places
Tower Hamlets All 3-year olds are eligible 67%
National 88%
Funded early years places for 4-year-olds Number of eligible 4-year-olds % of population aged 4 % take-up of funded places
Tower Hamlets All 4-year olds are eligible 78%
National 93%
The 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old funded places tables look different because they measure different things; funded places for 2-year-olds are only for children considered to be disadvantaged, while for 3- and 4-year-olds everyone is entitled to a funded place.

Data source

Children's overweight and obesity

In Tower Hamlets, 19% of reception-age children are overweight or obese, compared to 24% nationally.

The children’s overweight and obesity measure is 19% in Tower Hamlets compared with 24% nationally. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas with children who are overweight or obese.

Contents

Percentage of reception-age children overweight or obese

Table showing percentage of reception-age children overweight or obese

Number in Tower Hamlets % in Tower Hamlets % National
Children's overweight and obesity (reception-age children) 560 19% 24%

Data source

Oral health

In Tower Hamlets, 30% of children aged 5 have visible tooth decay (oral health issues) compared to 22% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of 5-year-olds with visible tooth decay

Table showing percentage of 5-year-olds with visible tooth decay

Number examined in Tower Hamlets % examined in Tower Hamlets % in Tower Hamlets % National
Oral health (visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds) 225 6.1% 30% 22%

Data source