Nursery World - Fears that smaller childcare settings are disappearing

The sector is warning that parents could face reduced childcare choice as a Nursery World investigation reveals that smaller providers are more likely to be closing.

Nursery World’s investigation, based upon local authority responses to a Freedom of Information request about the number of nurseries that closed in the first year of the 30 hours, reveals a varied picture with some areas affected more than others. In some local authorities, the number of nurseries that opened far outweighed the number that closed.

Looking at the number of childcare places available in the local authorities in September 2018 and 12 months prior, for those that had net closures and provided figures, there was less of an impact on places than would be expected. This suggests that the nurseries which closed were smaller settings and/or larger settings opened during the same period.

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