Sharp increase in nursery closures since introduction of 30 hours childcare

A government-funded childcare scheme is to blame for a sharp increase in nursery closures over the past year, according to an early years representative body. The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) has said nurseries that cancel their membership and close down are increasingly citing underfunding for the flagship government initiative as the cause. Its records showed 73 settings closed their doors between September 2016 and August 2017. This number rose by 66 per cent to 121 from September 2017 to August 2018 after the scheme was introduced. Read more.