However, the quality of childcare in deprived areas is of a lower standard overall than in other parts of the country, with a higher proportion of nurseries and childminders inspected achieving lower grades than elsewhere.
Nurseries were found to offer higher quality than childminders in poorer areas, but in other areas they offered comparable levels of care.
Nine per cent of providers inspected between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009 were rated outstanding, compared with 4 per cent of providers awarded the grade during the 2007/08 inspection cycle.
In the last year 1,300 settings were graded inadequate and 150 of them closed.
The figures suggest that nurseries who do well are likely to continue to offer high-quality childcare, with 73 per cent of those achieving outstanding maintaining the grade at their next inspection.
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