More nurseries and childminders likely to close due to cost pressures, MPs told

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More nurseries and childminders are likely to close their doors due to cost pressures and staff shortages, childcare leaders have warned.

Childminders and nursery staff are leaving the sector as the “emotional” demands of the job are taking their toll, MPs heard.

Leaders of childcare providers told the Commons Education Select Committee that families are already “missing out” on childcare places due to closures of early years settings – and they warned the situation could get worse in the years to come as a result of funding pressures.

It comes as Ofsted figures, published in November last year, show that the number of childcare providers in England registered with the watchdog fell by 5,400 in the year to August 2022.

Gemma Rolstone, director of quality at Puffins Childcare in Devon, told MPs: “I think a lot of those really important small providers who do give an awful lot more than the basics will close and it will be filled in other ways that may not necessarily be the best for children and families.”