50% more nurseries shut down
Closures could scupper Tories’ plans to extend free childcare
NURSERY closures soared by 50% last year, putting the Government’s plans to expand free childcare in peril.
Some 216 nurseries in England had to shut in the 12 months to September, up from 144 in 2021/22.
The National Day Nurseries Association last night blamed years of underfunding for the closures.
And it said parents going back to work when more funded childcare starts to be rolled out in April may struggle to find a nursery place.
Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “It’s becoming clear that the Conservatives have made yet another pledge they won’t be able to deliver.
“Families are already struggling to find available childcare. Labour warned that adding in more free hours without fixing the system to deliver them could see the Conservatives crash the childcare market, just like they crashed the economy.
SUPPORT
“Labour will reform the childcare system to better support families, from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school.”
Working parents are currently entitled to 30 hours of free childcare a week for children aged three to four. But under plans announced in March, the scheme will eventually be extended to working parents of all kids aged over nine months.
But the NDNA’s chief executive Purnima Tanuku said the Government will not be able to fulfil its promise unless it takes urgent action to increase funding to childcare providers facing rising staffing, energy and food costs, as well as a “workforce crisis”.
A Department for Education spokesman said despite a reduction in the number of providers, the number of childcare places remained steady, falling this year by only 2%.