Six nurseries have recently closed in Manchester, prompting a council committee to express concern.
The Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee – Ofsted Subgroup, which last met at the end of July, heard that Manchester Day Nursery and Preschool in the city centre is the latest to fall victim to the rising rent prices and will close on 15 November.
Gillian Blackwell, a lead officer for the committee, said: “We are aware that this is an issue with the rising cost of real estate in the city centre – it puts pressure on providers.”
However she did note that the number of closures was lower than the 15 that had been seen last year.
She also added that of the six nursery closures, two had moved to another venue while four were the result of foreclosure, including Kids 1st Steps in Burnage which closed abruptly in August.
Other nurseries to have closed were Kinder Day Care in Whalley Range and Little Leaders in Mosside.
The committee also discussed the difficulty of recruiting and retaining qualified staff given low wages in the sector.
According to the National Careers Service website, the average nursery worker’s yearly salary starts at £14,500, rising to £23,000 with experience.
The closure of nurseries is especially concerning given the ongoing expansion of government-funded entitlements to early-years education and childcare.
In September eligible working parents became entitled to 15 hours of childcare a week for children over nine months old and in September 2025 this will double to 30 hours.
In April, the Department for Education estimated the scheme would necessitate 85,000 more nursery places and 40,000 more staff members compared with numbers in 2023.
Last year, analysis by the National Day Nurseries Association revealed nursery closures had risen by 50% between 2022 and 2023.
Feature image: Stephen Andrews on Unsplash
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