Centres provided an estimated 37,750 full-day care places for 40,050 children in 2006, with about 12 vacancies per provider.
In the past three years the number of full-day providers has risen by more than a quarter, to 12,694. The number of early years providers in schools has hardly changed, while the number of full-day care places they offer has decreased by 6 per cent. The number of sessional childcare providers has continued to fall.
There has been a 'dramatic' increase in the number of out-of-school providers, rising by 70 per cent to 7,656. The number of registered childminders remained stable at 71,500.
The 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Surveys is the latest in a series on the different types of provision carried out for the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The surveys and a summary report are at www.dcsf.gov.uk/research.