Childcare Nation? Progress on the Childcare Strategy and Priorities for the Future, the first study to pull together all available research on the issue since 1997, says there are two different markets catering for different types of area. More affluent areas tend to be served by private childcare providers, which are increasingly in the hands of large corporate chains.
Deprived areas are more reliant on government intervention and initiatives such as the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative and children's centres.
"Particular concerns remain about the viability of provision in the most deprived areas, once the start-up funding provided by the government runs out," the report states. Garnham added: "The gap between these two separate markets needs to be narrowed and there needs to be thorough thinking about how to make provision sustainable in the most deprived areas."
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