Atale of three private nurseries: the first has been going ten years, has an occupancy rate of around 98 per cent and a two-year waiting list for its out-of-school club; the second is a neighbourhood nursery turned children's centre with 80 per cent occupancy and a waiting list for babies; the third is sandwiched between Sure Start programmes in a deprived area and occupancy lurches perilously between anything from 20 to 50 per cent.
The nurseries have not been plucked at random to reflect geographical differences. In fact, they are all in Hull, Yorkshire, and all owned by Happykidz proprietor Anita Anderson. But they encapsulate the way in which some nurseries are thriving on unfulfilled demand, while competition from Government-backed initiatives is having serious knock-on effects on the viability of others.
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