Over the past year or so, there have been many local press reports aboutuniversities and colleges closing their on-site nursery provision. Thisweek, we report on the three latest closures across the country (seeNews, page 3).
There is no doubt that operating a successful college nursery is noteasy, whether the college runs its own provision or contracts it out toa third party. The economics are tough, with a high level of subsidyneeded for students' fees, and requirements such as irregular hours orterm-time only. Some places usually need to be allocated to the publicfor a nursery to make commercial sense.
Local authority childcare assessments are highlighting the spare placesin nearby nurseries, giving another reason for colleges to opt out ofprovision.
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