Palmer Park in Reading Early years summary

Local area: Palmer Park

Local authority: Reading

Summary

Palmer Park (E02003398) is part of Reading local authority (view on map). Palmer Park has an approximate population of 12,000 people, of which 7.6% are children 5 years old and under. It is classified as "urban: nearer to a major town or city".

Palmer Park neighbours Wokingham Road, Southampton Street & Redlands Road, Earley, Central Reading North, and Central Reading South.

Headlines for early years in Reading

The data below is only available at local authority level

  • 0.9% of pupils in state-funded settings in Reading have an EHC plan compared to 1.4% nationally. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas with pupils that have an EHC plan in state-funded settings
  • 1.0% of pupils in Reading have been issued an EHC plan from their local authority compared to 1.6% nationally. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas with pupils that have an EHC plan
  • No data was collected for the oral health measure in Reading
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

Palmer Park is the 12th least deprived area in Reading (out of 19) with 37% of children living in low-income families, compared to 33% across Reading and 38% nationally.

Data source

Provider information

Registered childcare providers

Palmer Park has 11 registered childcare providers.

Type Number in Palmer Park
All childcare providers 11
Childminders 2
Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care 9

In Palmer Park, there have been 2 full inspections of childcare providers since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.

Achievement: 1 was graded 'strong standard', and 1 was graded 'needs attention' (of 2).

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: 1 was graded 'strong standard', and 1 was graded 'needs attention' (of 2).

Children's welfare and wellbeing: 2 were graded 'expected standard' (of 2).

Curriculum and teaching: 1 was graded 'strong standard', and 1 was graded 'needs attention' (of 2).

Inclusion: 1 was graded 'expected standard', and 1 was graded 'needs attention' (of 2).

Leadership and governance: 1 was graded 'expected standard', and 1 was graded 'needs attention' (of 2).

The tables below show the outcomes of inspections of childcare providers in Palmer Park. The tables are split by provider type, and show the number of inspections that have taken place for each area, and the outcomes of those inspections.

Contents

All childcare

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 2 0 1 0 1 0
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 2 0 1 0 1 0
Children's welfare and wellbeing 2 0 0 2 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 2 0 1 0 1 0
Inclusion 2 0 0 1 1 0
Leadership and governance 2 0 0 1 1 0

Childminders

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 1 0 1 0 0 0
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 1 0 1 0 0 0
Children's welfare and wellbeing 1 0 0 1 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 1 0 0 0
Inclusion 1 0 0 1 0 0
Leadership and governance 1 0 0 1 0 0

Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 1 0 0 0 1 0
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 1 0 0 0 1 0
Children's welfare and wellbeing 1 0 0 1 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 0 0 1 0
Inclusion 1 0 0 0 1 0
Leadership and governance 1 0 0 0 1 0

Data source

Summary of Ofsted findings

Summary of Ofsted findings

Inspection of Reading’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 Standard Inspection 22 April 2024 Requires improvement to be good Requires improvement to be good Requires improvement to be good Good Good

Data source

Area SEND inspection of Reading 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

Reading local area partnership has not yet been inspected under the current area SEND framework.

Data source

Joint targeted area inspection of Reading 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
Domestic abuse 10 March 2025 Link

Data source

Early years population

Contents

Percentage of Palmer Park population by age group

Table showing percentage of Palmer Park population by age group

% in Palmer Park % in Reading % National
Age 5 and under 7.6% 7.0% 6.4%
Under 1 year 1.2% 1.1% 1.0%
1 year 1.3% 1.2% 1.0%
2 years 1.2% 1.2% 1.1%
3 years 1.2% 1.2% 1.1%
4 years 1.2% 1.2% 1.1%
5 years 1.5% 1.2% 1.1%

Data source

Local authority context

Early years pupil premium

In Reading, 4.4% 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 Reading % in Reading % National
Receiving pupil premium 561 4.4% 5.1%

Data source

Children looked after

The percentage of 'children looked after' in Reading is 0.9% 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.

Contents

Table showing percentage of children looked after in Reading

Number in Reading % in Reading % National
Children looked after (under 1 year) 17 0.9% 0.6%
Children looked after (aged 1 to 4 years) 26 0.3% 0.4%

Percentage of children looked after in Reading

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 Reading, 5.6% of children aged 5 and under receive SEN support in state-funded settings and 0.9% have an EHC plan, compared to 4.5% and 1.4% nationally.

0.9% of pupils in state-funded settings in Reading have an EHC plan compared to 1.4% nationally. This places it among the bottom 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 Reading % in Reading % National
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 716 5.6% 4.5%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (under 2 years) 19 0.3% 0.3%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (3 years) 147 6.8% 3.7%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (4 years) 243 11% 9.2%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (5 years) 307 14% 12%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 115 0.9% 1.4%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (under 2 years) 0 0% 0%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (3 years) 5 0.2% 0.3%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (4 years) 37 1.7% 3.1%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (5 years) 73 3.4% 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 Reading.

In Reading, 1.0% of children aged 5 and under have an EHC plan, compared to 1.6% nationally.

1.0% of pupils in Reading have been issued an EHC plan from their local authority compared to 1.6% nationally. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas with pupils that have an EHC plan.

Contents

Percentage of children with an EHCP in Reading by age group

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

Number in Reading % in Reading % National
Total: Children with an EHCP (age 5 and under) 134 1.0% 1.6%
Total: Children with an EHCP (under 2 years) 1 0% 0%
Total: Children with an EHCP (3 years) 9 0.4% 0.8%
Total: Children with an EHCP (4 years) 46 2.1% 3.4%
Total: Children with an EHCP (5 years) 78 3.6% 5.0%

Data source

Early years funded takeup

In Reading, take-up of funded early years places is 65% for 2-year-olds, 93% for 3-year-olds, and 89% for 4-year-olds, compared to 72%, 88%, and 93% nationally.

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
Reading 332 16% 65%
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
Reading All 3-year olds are eligible 93%
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
Reading All 4-year olds are eligible 89%
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 Reading, 22% of reception-age children are overweight or obese, compared to 24% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of reception-age children overweight or obese

Table showing percentage of reception-age children overweight or obese

Number in Reading % in Reading % National
Children's overweight and obesity (reception-age children) 375 22% 24%

Data source

Oral health

The percentage of children aged 5 with visible tooth decay (oral health issues) is not available for Reading. However, the national average is 22%.

No data was collected for the oral health measure in Reading.

Contents

Percentage of 5-year-olds with visible tooth decay

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

Number examined in Reading % examined in Reading % in Reading % National
Oral health (visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds) – – – 22%

Data source