Hundreds of settings closing doors as 30 hours looms

The data, obtained by the Champagne Nurseries, Lemonade Funding (CNLF) campaign group, which has 13,925 members, relates to four local authorities, in which a total of 313 settings closed.

It comes amid increasing financial pressures on providers, in many cases reduced or stagnant funding for free places, and ahead of the introduction of the extended 30 hours of free childcare in September.

As part of the campaign, which was launched last year by a group of nursery owners to oppose the Government’s policies on the free entitlement, members have been contacting their local authorities for information on the number of settings that have closed their doors since 2016.

According to the responses, in Oxfordshire alone, 119 childcare settings opened while 248 closed last year, resulting in a net loss of 129 settings. Between January and February 2017, a further 58 closed.

Nursery World contacted Oxfordshire County Council, but it refused to either confirm or deny the number of closures. However, a spokesperson said there has been a decrease in the number of providers due to a reduction of childminders.

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