Secondary analysis of the Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers 2018 found that:

  • The childcare provider market is generally in sound financial health, with the estimated mean ratio of total income to total cost at 1.3, whilst the median was 1.0, across all providers.
  • The mean unit cost over all settings was £3.70 per child per hour. This varied across group-based settings from £3.83 for private providers to £4.16 for voluntary providers, £4.28 for nursery classes and £7.23 for MNS and was lower for childminders (£3.42).
  • Almost three quarters (74) per cent of providers reported making additional charges and providers delivering the 30 hours policy are more likely to have additional charges for parents.  

Full report