At the start of November, the DfE published its bi-annual Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers.
This survey looks at the number of the different types of childcare provider (childminder, nursery, school-based childcare, wraparound care, etc), number of childcare places, levels of qualification and fees charged, for the period 2016 to 2018.
There are some interesting statistics, but the most striking one is the fact that the number of childcare providers has dropped by 8,800 in the past two years with childminders showing the biggest fall in numbers. (If you read the full survey it’s worth noting that before and after-school care is split between the ‘group based providers’ and ‘school-based providers’ categories, which makes it more difficult to identify trends in this sector).
Read the full survey: www.gov.uk