Deprived areas worst hit by 50 per cent rise in nursery closures, research finds
Emily Harle
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Nursery closure rates have increased by 50 per cent since last year with deprived areas being worst hit, new research from the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) has found.
There were 50 per cent more setting closures in 2023/23 compared with the year before, with 37 per cent of the closures taking place in the 30 per cent most deprived areas of England – compared with 34 per cent in 2021/22.
The data, gathered through NDNA’s consultations with members and media monitoring, found that 186 nurseries closed in England in 2022/23, compared with 124 in the previous year.
Over the last two financial years, the highest number of closures took place in areas with large cities with high populations, with south and east Manchester, Leeds, the North East, and Bristol areas experiencing the highest volumes of closures.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of NDNA, said that the increase in closures was primarily due to “chronic underfunding of early years places”, adding that the average increase of 3.4 per cent funding fails to cover the “rocketing costs” experienced by providers.
“Nurseries’ wage bills rose by 14 per cent with the increase in minimum and living wages from April and business rates bills have also shot up for the majority,” she said. “This is before we take into account the persistently high inflation, interest rate rises and food costs that are 20 per cent higher than last year.”
These figures come after latest Ofsted data revealed that 302 nurseries and preschools closed between August 2021 and August 2022, and that the overall total of childcare providers had declined by 5,400 in the same time period – most of which was attributed to a fall in the number of childminders.
Tanuku added that the closures are “extremely worrying”, given the ongoing expansion of funded childcare, as announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt's Budget earlier this year.
“The government has announced that funding rates will go up in September, but judging by the cost-of-living pressures, the suggested rates will not keep pace,” she said. “We need urgent action now for our nurseries to remain sustainable. Every nursery closure is devastating.”
June O' Sullivan, chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation, said: "It's shocking how consistent underfunding by the government continues to drive the cost of childcare up and the quality of service down across many nursery providers – with devastating consequences as this new NDNA research shows.
"This is particularly concerning given it impacts even more on children from disadvantaged backgrounds who will struggle to find access to quality nursery education – thereby increasing the attainment gap even further."
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, branded the government’s plans to expand funded childcare and relax staff:child ratios as part of an “ignorant and disrespectful narrative” that treats professionals in the sector as “formal baby sitters”, in a speech at the EYA’s annual conference.
He added that the changes will “pile even more pressure onto our sector,” adding: “Whilst our sector is strong, whilst it’s proven to be resilient, the harsh truth is, it simply cannot take much more pressure.”
