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Government survey reveals half of nurseries and childminders fear closure

Coronavirus Policy & Politics Provision Families Funding
Around half of England’s childcare providers told the Department for Education in the summer they would be unable to survive financially for another year, a survey on the impact of Covid-19 shows.
The DfE survey carried out in July asked childcare providers about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on attendance, workforce, and finances
The DfE survey carried out in July asked childcare providers about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on attendance, workforce, and finances

The figures come from research commissioned by the DfE for its Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers and Covid-19.

Carried out between 9 -16 July by NatCen Social Research and Frontier Economics, the online survey, which has just been published, found that just 45 per cent of nurseries and pre-schools and 55 per cent of childminders open at the time predicted that they would be able to remain financial sustainable for a year or longer.

In total, 4,012 providers participated in the study: 396 school-based providers, 1,368 group-based providers, and 2,248 childminders.

Providers were asked about their operating models, expectations for September, attendance, workforce, finances, and financial sustainability.

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