CONCERNS have been raised over the number of nurseries and other childcare providers which have closed since 2015.
More than one in seven nurseries and other early years centres have been forced to shut down, according to Ofsted figures.
A call for 'urgent action' has been made in order to address a national funding crisis, which has left more than 40 per cent of providers in England contemplating closure next year
In Reading, there were 193 providers on the register at the end of March 2018, 33 fewer than in March 2015.
All three and four-year-olds in England are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare per week during term time.
But since September 2017, parents can claim an additional 15 hours if both they and their partner earn less than £100,000 a year, but more than the equivalent of 16 hours at the minimum wage.
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