The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare places in England through regular surveys and engagement with early years providers and local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any imminent sufficiency issues and we have not seen a substantial number of parents unable to secure a childcare place, either this term or since early years settings reopened fully on 1 June 2020.<\/p>
According to findings from the 2021 childcare and early years providers survey, 7 in 10 group-based providers reported having spare places in their full-day provision and almost half of childminders (49%) reported having spare capacity on average across the week.<\/p>
There were an estimated 62,000 providers with at least one child aged 0 to 4 years old registered in England in spring 2021, including 21,300 group-based providers, 9,500 school-based providers and 31,200 registered childminders. These providers were offering over 1.5 million Ofsted-registered childcare places. Comparable estimates from 2019 show there were 66,000 providers made up of 21,900 group-based providers, 8,900 school-based providers and 35,100 childminders. The drop in the number of providers between 2019 and 2021 is largely driven by a reduction in the estimated number of childminders. The number of group-based and school-based providers was more stable between these two years. There is no comparable data for 2020 because the 2020 childcare and early years providers survey was postponed due to COVID-19.<\/p>
Ofsted data on movement in the childcare sector shows that there was minimal change in the number of childminders and childcare providers on non-domestic premises (group-based providers) between 31 March 2020 and 31 August 2020. Data from the same period in 2021 shows there was a reduction in the number of childminders from 33,004 on 31 March to 31,957 on 31 August. The reduction in the number of childminders continues a downward trend, with 14,100 (31%) fewer providers than on 31 August 2015. The number of group-based providers remained broadly stable across the two years.<\/p>
In addition to our regular statistical collections, during 2020, the department also carried out three waves of the survey of childcare and early years providers and COVID-19. In all three waves, the majority of providers reported being open at the time of the survey with a small minority being temporarily or permanently closed.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-03-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-03-03T16:31:58.823Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-02-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pre-school Education: Closures"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made a quantitative assessment of trends in the level of closure of (a) nurseries and (b) early year settings in (i) 2020 and (ii) 2021.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4418", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Justin Madders"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Ellesmere Port and Neston"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Justin Madders"} ], "uin" : "128295"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1352274", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1352274/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
This is a matter for Her Majesty\u2019s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4674", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Vicky Ford"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Chelmsford"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Vicky Ford"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-09-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-09-10T14:21:17.783Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-09-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pre-school Education: Closures"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of pre-schools in England have closed since March 2020.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4418", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Justin Madders"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Ellesmere Port and Neston"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Justin Madders"} ], "uin" : "41917"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1279914", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1279914/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Ofsted publish data monthly on joiners and leavers in the childcare sector, which we have used as a proxy for providers that may have closed.<\/p>
Between 30 June 2020 and 31 December 2020, there were a total of 3,202 childcare providers who left the Early Years Register across all provider types. However, this should be considered in conjunction with those who joined the Early Years Register to understand the net impact on the childcare market. Over the same time period there were a total of 2,340 providers who joined the Early Years Register. This data does not include nursery provision within schools. Further data on leavers and joiners can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/joiners-and-leavers-in-the-childcare-sector<\/a>.<\/p> Of the childcare providers who left the Early Years Register between 30 June 2020 and 31 December 2020, 396 (12%) were located in the most deprived areas. Deprivation quintiles are calculated from the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index rank of the provider\u2019s address.<\/p> The early years sector has benefitted from the continuation of early years entitlement funding during the during the summer and autumn terms in 2020. As private nurseries typically rely on private income for a significant proportion of their income, they are able to furlough their staff via the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme (CJRS). Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme<\/a>. As long as the staff meet the other criteria for the scheme, private nurseries are able to furlough their staff via the CJRS if they have experienced a drop in their income either from parents or the government. Eligible nurseries can also benefit from a business rates holiday and can access the business loans as set out by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Childminders are less likely to be employers and therefore are less likely to be eligible for support via the CJRS. Childminders may find the Self Employment Income Support Scheme more relevant. further information can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme<\/a>.<\/p> There is little evidence of current, actual, failure in the early years market. Whilst we recognise that the early years sector has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, we have not yet seen localised failure of the market at any time in any local authority. Most importantly, we have not seen a significant number of parents unable to secure a childcare place since early years settings re-opened fully on 1 June 2020.<\/p> We continue to work with the early years sector to understand how they can best be supported to ensure that sufficient safe, appropriate and affordable childcare is available to those who need it now, and for all families who need it in the longer term.<\/em><\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4218", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Berridge"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Berridge"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-02-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "HL12573"}
, {"_value" : "HL12578"}
], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-02-10T17:39:01.367Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2021-01-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pre-school Education: Closures"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of early education providers that expect to close permanently within the next six months", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1241", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Watson of Invergowrie"}
], "uin" : "HL12575"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1279918", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1279918/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Ofsted publish data monthly on joiners and leavers in the childcare sector, which we have used as a proxy for providers that may have closed.<\/p> Between 30 June 2020 and 31 December 2020, there were a total of 3,202 childcare providers who left the Early Years Register across all provider types. However, this should be considered in conjunction with those who joined the Early Years Register to understand the net impact on the childcare market. Over the same time period there were a total of 2,340 providers who joined the Early Years Register. This data does not include nursery provision within schools. Further data on leavers and joiners can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/joiners-and-leavers-in-the-childcare-sector<\/a>.<\/p> Of the childcare providers who left the Early Years Register between 30 June 2020 and 31 December 2020, 396 (12%) were located in the most deprived areas. Deprivation quintiles are calculated from the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index rank of the provider\u2019s address.<\/p> The early years sector has benefitted from the continuation of early years entitlement funding during the during the summer and autumn terms in 2020. As private nurseries typically rely on private income for a significant proportion of their income, they are able to furlough their staff via the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme (CJRS). Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme<\/a>. As long as the staff meet the other criteria for the scheme, private nurseries are able to furlough their staff via the CJRS if they have experienced a drop in their income either from parents or the government. Eligible nurseries can also benefit from a business rates holiday and can access the business loans as set out by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Childminders are less likely to be employers and therefore are less likely to be eligible for support via the CJRS. Childminders may find the Self Employment Income Support Scheme more relevant. further information can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme<\/a>.<\/p> There is little evidence of current, actual, failure in the early years market. Whilst we recognise that the early years sector has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, we have not yet seen localised failure of the market at any time in any local authority. Most importantly, we have not seen a significant number of parents unable to secure a childcare place since early years settings re-opened fully on 1 June 2020.<\/p> We continue to work with the early years sector to understand how they can best be supported to ensure that sufficient safe, appropriate and affordable childcare is available to those who need it now, and for all families who need it in the longer term.<\/em><\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4218", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Berridge"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Berridge"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-02-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "HL12573"}
, {"_value" : "HL12575"}
], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-02-10T17:39:01.413Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2021-01-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pre-school Education: Closures"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government how many early education providers (1) have closed in the last six months in England, and (2) have closed in the last six months in areas of England with the highest level of income deprivation according to the English Indices of Deprivation.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1241", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Watson of Invergowrie"}
], "uin" : "HL12578"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1169211", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1169211/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Between 1 January 2015 and 1 January 2020[1], 25 maintained nursery schools have closed. The table below sets out the number of outright closures and closures in order to merge with another school (amalgamation) in each of the past five years.<\/p> <\/p> Year<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2015<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2016<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2017<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2018<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2019<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> Maintaned nursery schools that have closed<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 2<\/p><\/td> 1<\/p><\/td> 2<\/p><\/td> 6<\/p><\/td> 3<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Maintaned nursery schools that have closed for amalgamation<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 3<\/p><\/td> 5<\/p><\/td> 1<\/p><\/td> 2<\/p><\/td> 0<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> [1] This data has been taken from Get Information about Schools (GIAS, the Department\u2019s register of schools). Responsibility for updating GIAS is shared between the Department, schools, and local authorities and therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data.<\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/111", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nick Gibb"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bognor Regis and Littlehampton"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Nick Gibb"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-01-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-01-13T14:49:19.79Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-01-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pre-school Education: Closures"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many maintained nurseries have closed in each of the last five years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4471", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Rachael Maskell"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "York Central"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Rachael Maskell"}
], "uin" : "1088"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1150084", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1150084/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " This is a matter for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/111", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nick Gibb"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bognor Regis and Littlehampton"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Nick Gibb"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-10-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "1118"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-10-21T16:13:09.707Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-10-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pre-school Education: Closures"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Ofsted registered (a) nurseries and (b) childminders have closed for business in each of the last 12 months.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4588", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Tracy Brabin"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Batley and Spen"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Tracy Brabin"}
], "uin" : "1120"}
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