According to research by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), more than 1.5 million children in England are living in 'childcare deserts.' The report states that 'exactly half' of local authorities meet this definition, but are much more likely to be the most deprived councils.
It also finds a similar picture when it comes to quality of provision. The analysis shows that the proportion of providers rated ‘outstanding’ steadily increases as you move from the most deprived postcodes to the least. In comparison, the proportion of providers rated as ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted increase as you move in the opposite direction.
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