The findings come from a survey by the County Councils Network (CCN), which represents England’s 25 county councils and 11 unitary authorities, and is part of the Local Government Association.
Its councils cover 86 per cent of England and a population of 26 million people.
The study, carried out by the CCN of its member councils, found that 80 per cent of respondents believe up to one in ten local providers are at risk of closure this winter, while the remaining 20 per cent are worried that figure could be as high as one in four in their areas due to increased costs of opening safely, and declining demand during the looming recession.
Families in these more remote areas already have fewer childcare choices meaning that just a few closures could result in people having to travel much further or in some cases, not be able to access any childcare at all.
The study found that councils believe the Government’s interventions have helped stave off closures so far in 2020, but that providers have only ‘weathered the storm’ and will face financial difficulty without further support into the winter.
Disruption to the market of this scale would leave many councils unable to fulfil their statutory duty to provide ‘sufficient’ childcare for residents, especially in more remote locations.
The councils warn that this could ultimately impact on economic recovery efforts if parents cannot find childcare close to where they live – especially if there are more local and national lockdowns.
To address this, they are calling on the Government to commit to ensuring financial support for the childcare sector until the end of the pandemic, with councils given the ability to direct funds to providers in areas where closures could have a major impact due to the smaller number of childcare services.
Currently, the Government has committed to pay funded early education places, administered by local authorities, at a fixed rate throughout the Autumn, regardless of how many children attend settings, but has yet to extend this further.
If no new funding was made available, childminders were most at risk, according to the councils surveyed. This follows day nurseries, and sessional preschools which offer limited hours and often located in remoter areas.
Councillor Keith Glazier, children and young people spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said, ‘County local authorities can be proud of their efforts in helping keep our vital childcare providers in business at the height of the pandemic, offering upfront financial support alongside guidance and publicity for them.
‘The Government’s financial support in this time has been invaluable, but a dead stop to it in the winter will cause huge problems for providers who have only weathered the storm of Coronavirus with this assistance.
'Rural and remote areas of counties where there is already a dearth of childcare could be the most vulnerable, impacting on parents and children alike, and hampering the economic recovery efforts. This is why we will need further financial support, and the freedoms for councils to direct these funds to the areas where closures will be most catastrophic.’
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said, ‘How many organisations have to warn that thousands of nurseries, pre-schools and childminders across the country are at serious risk of closure before the Government starts to listen?
‘Closures on the scale forecast by this research would not only lead to tens of thousands of young children missing out on vital early education, but also parents losing access to childcare at a time when many are already struggling to balance work and family commitments. The CCN is absolutely right to highlight the particularly detrimental impact that this would have in more remote areas, where closures could mean that families are simply no longer to access formal childcare at all.’
He added that the steps taken by Government were welcome but not enough.
‘The sooner ministers acknowledge this and accept that much more significant investment into the early years sector is needed, the more likely we are to prevent the country being hit by a full-blown childcare crisis.’
Tulip Siddiq MP, Labour’s shadow minister for children and early years, said, ‘Parents rely on childcare to be able to do their jobs. Those jobs and our economic recovery will be put at risk if one in ten nurseries and childminders are forced to close over winter, not to mention the impact on children who rely on early education.
‘Labour has been warning about childcare closures for months, yet ministers have sat on their hands as the early years sector and workforce move ever closer to a cliff edge.
‘It is time for this incompetent Government to start listening and start targeting support at sectors like childcare which need it the most.’
- Download the report Managing post-Covid childcare markets here.