Childcare: One in four providers 'make loss'

Almost a quarter of childcare providers are making a loss despite fees in England being among the highest in the world, a report has suggested.
In the poorest areas the proportion making a loss stands at 31%, according to a government survey. The report also suggests 60% of child minders and about half those offering after-school and holiday care have frozen their fees during the recession.

Childcare charity the Daycare Trust said the findings were a "key concern."

The Childcare Provider Finances Survey for the Department for Education suggests that 11% of child care providers are just breaking even.

The researchers carried out more than 1,200 interviews with nursery managers and child minders to get a representative sample of private and voluntary child care providers across England.

The interviewees revealed that their biggest financial concerns for child minders were parents being unable to afford fees (21%) and not being able to fill enough places (22%).

Among larger childcare providers such as nurseries, 25% worried that there was not enough demand for places, 18% were concerned about the cost of employing staff and 17% that parents were unable to afford the fees.

Read details here.