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Data shows continued drop in number of registered early years providers

On
Jul 11, 2024

by Jess Gibson

Ofsted has released statistics revealing that the number of registered early years providers fell by 2% between March 2023 and March 2024.

The data was released as part of a report providing official statistics for early years providers and inspections as of 31 March 2024.  

The data shows that: 

  • as of 31 March 2024, 61,800 childcare and early years providers were registered with Ofsted, down by 1,440 (2%) since 31 March 2023. Most of this decline was due to a fall in the number of childminders. 

  • the number of childminders registered with Ofsted had decreased by 1,340 (5%) to 26,500 providers since 31 March 2023.鈥 

  • in total, there were 1.27 million childcare and early years places offered by providers registered on the Early Years Register, up by less than 1% (1,370) in the period.鈥 

In addition, the DfE noted an overall pattern of decline in the number of active early years providers on its registers since 2015, mainly due to a fall in childminders during this period. 

The full report can be found 鈥. 

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the 无码天堂, said: 鈥淭oday鈥檚 Ofsted figures once again paint an extremely concerning picture of capacity in the early years sector. 鈥 

鈥淒espite a marginal increase in the number of overall places nationally, the continued fall in the number of providers, alongside the fact that just under half of individual local authorities have actually seen a decline in places 鈥 shows how urgently key sector challenges 鈥 namely, staffing and underfunding 鈥 need to be addressed ahead of the next phase of the expansion.鈥 

"What鈥檚 more, given much of this decline is once again down to falling childminder numbers, it鈥檚 clear that much more must be done to encourage childminding professionals, who are a vital source of quality, flexible care and education, to join and remain in the sector.鈥 

鈥淟ess than a week since the new government came to office, these figures could not be a clearer indication of the scale of the task at hand. We look forward, therefore, to working with ministers to ensure that the sector finally gets the support 鈥 and critically, investment 鈥 needed to reverse these concerning trends, and deliver quality, accessible, affordable and sustainable care and education that families deserve.鈥