The amount of nurseries and childcare places in England has risen overall in the last year but many councils report a fall in numbers, according to the latest Ofsted figures.

The number of childcare providers in non-domestic premises, which includes nurseries and pre-schools, has increased by 420 to 27,300 between August 2023 and 2024, and the number of overall childcare places has risen by 12,100 to 1.28 million, a rise of 1%. However this follows a 1% fall in the number of childcare places between August 2022 and 2023.

Analysis from the Early Years Alliance found that while there was an overall rise, 65 local authorities reported a fall in childcare places in the period between March and August 2024.

The overall number of childcare providers continues to decline, according to the report, with a 2% drop driven by a decrease in the number of childminders and home childcarers. The number of registered childminders fell by 1,060 to 26,000 between August 2023 and 2024.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said: “The growth in the number of nurseries and preschools is welcome after years of decline but it is fragile and has not replaced the hundreds of nurseries we have lost, year on year recently. Any recovery in the total numbers of providers could be completely undermined if the increases in National Insurance Contributions, which will add tens of thousands to the operating costs of an average nursery, are not reflected in new funding rates.”

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said the figures were “further proof that the early years sector is in need of urgent and significant support if we are to have any hope of successfully delivering the final phase of early entitlement expansion.”  He said: “While the findings show a slight increase in the number of early years places, the fact that more than four in 10 local authorities reported a drop in places clearly shows that longstanding sector challenges – namely, funding and staffing – must be addressed as a matter of urgency to build the additional capacity the sector so desperately needs. ”  

Ofsted also revealed that of the 8,270 full inspections of registered providers since 1 September 2023, 88% were judged to be good or outstanding, while 78% of settings that were previously judged requires improvement or inadequate, improved to good or outstanding at their next full inspection. Overall, 98% of providers that have received a full inspection were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection.