Antonia Simon News Today

Almost third of not-for-profit nurseries, which play vital role in caring for children with special education needs, closed or taken over by private firms

Does the rise in private equity investment in England’s childcare sector put nurseries at risk of closure? We asked two experts in the sector to share their views

Exclusive: Increasing involvement of investment funds could leave nursery places at risk

Antonia Simon, associate professor at UCL Social Research Institute, warns that the nursery sector is at risk of following in the footsteps of adult social care with a 'spectacular collapse' due to the high levels of debt many large private childcare operators have which are buying nurseries.

A new report warns the nursery sector is ‘at threat of being damaged’ as smaller settings get taken over by large corporate companies that are ‘profit-focused’.