The country’s least affluent areas feel the brunt of nursery closures, according to latest research
September 2025 - Voluntary
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The country’s least affluent areas feel the brunt of nursery closures, according to latest research: A recent report reveals the total number of nurseries in England has declined since 2018, decreasing from 24,000 to 22,500. Not-for-profit providers, which typically serve the country’s least affluent areas, have experienced the sharpest decline. Nearly one-fifth (19%) of not-for-profit registered nurseries have closed or have been taken over since 2018, leaving families in England’s poorest neighbourhoods with little or no access to affordable early years provision.
Research conducted by UCL’s Faculty of Education & Society between September 2024 and May 2025 aimed to understand the distribution of nursery closures and openings in England, accessibility in the least affluent areas, and the types of nursery ownership. The findings reveal that the top ten nursery providers in England are all either private equity (PE) backed or for-profit (non-PE-backed) organisations and primarily serve the least deprived areas of the country.
The research shows that not-for-profit providers have seen a reduction in their share of the sector, declining from nearly a third (29%) in 2018 to a quarter (25%) in 2024. In contrast, the share of for-profit (non-private-equity-backed) nurseries has increased from 49% in 2018 to 54% in 2024. Importantly, while for-profit non-PE-backed nurseries have filled the gap left by the decline of not-for-profit nurseries, they offer the fewest places in the most deprived areas.
Furthermore, the research found that while closures and openings occur across all parts of the country, the most deprived areas see fewer new openings. For example, only one in ten (11%) of new PE-backed nurseries - whose market share has doubled to 8% since 2018 - have opened in England's least affluent areas, compared to 30% of new openings in wealthier areas.
The report recommends that the nursery sector should be better managed with more local authority involvement, and that providers should be incentivised to open in the most deprived areas.
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