The post-pandemic years have fundamentally changed how UK families engage with early childhood services. However, many British nursery and wraparound care providers may not be fully attuned to the new patterns emerging in parent expectations, because post pandemic it has been evolving and changing fast every year.
For example, rising living costs and changing work-from-home policies have continually shifted what parents need from childcare services each year. At the same time, parents’ overall ideas of what providers must offer are further reshaping the industry. Even providers offering high-quality care must now contend with fluctuating attendance rates, increasingly selective parents, and increasing competition.
Resonate CX, developer of a leading customer experience management platform, recently published a study that may shed light on these challenges. The study, titled Current Landscape of the UK Nursery Market Research Report 2025, explores what modern British families are really looking for when it comes to nursery and wraparound care, from the major providers to the small, independent operators. This article summarises some of the study’s most important points, giving providers practical insights that could help them stay relevant and retain families today.
Top Challenges Facing Nursery and Wraparound Care Providers in the UK
Full-time enrolment is shrinking. In 2024, 30% of families used nursery services five days a week. This year? Just 22%. Instead, families are opting for two to three days per week.
What’s driving this?
- More parents are working from home, part-time, or in hybrid setups.
- Families want flexibility not rigid schedules.
- Cost-of-living pressures are forcing tough choices.
In other words, the old model of five-day childcare just isn’t cutting it anymore.
5 Things Nurseries and Wraparound Care Institutions Can Do
As mentioned, many factors influencing churn and enrolment identified in the report can be directly addressed by providers. Focusing resources in these areas can help providers stay relevant even as the nature of work, parenting, and childcare continues to change in the UK. Providers can start improving enrolment and retention by adopting these strategies:
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Turn Parent Concerns into Opportunities for Increased Attendance
Beyond cost and the increasing availability of alternatives, many parents say they’re still “easing into” structured childcare. 15% of nursery users and 9% of wraparound care users cite this transitional mindset as a reason for not enrolling more frequently. Quality concerns (or more accurately, parents’ perceptions of quality) are another subtle but impactful factor. About 4% of nursery users and 5% of wraparound users say doubts about care standards hold them back. (PDF pp. 11–12)
While these are not the top deterrents, they’re among the most solvable. Closer communication with parents may help ease their doubts about both care quality and the transitional nature of these services.
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Find Out Customers’ Key Priorities When Choosing Nursery and Wraparound Care Providers
Across both nurseries and wraparound care, safe facilities rank as the most important factor when selecting a provider. This is followed by child development and qualified educators. Value for money, nutritious meals, and communication follow further down the list but were not primary decision drivers. (PDF p. 13)
These findings present an opportunity for providers, as safety, development programmes, and staff qualifications can all be controlled. Communicating these specific benefits prominently during tours and in marketing materials may help ease the hesitance of some parents when enrolling their children.
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Discover the Biggest Causes of Customer Churn
Churn in the sector is high, but not all causes are equally within a provider’s control. Thankfully, while concerns around location and physical infrastructure may take longer to address, many of the most common drivers can be more readily improved through better training, clearer communication, and operational adjustments.
Among nursery users who switched providers, 36% did so due to concerns about safety or facilities, while 28% cited location or accessibility issues. For wraparound care, 50% left because of safety or facility problems, and 43% pointed to poor accessibility.
For both types of users, staff issues came third, at 26% for nursery users and 21% for wraparound users. (PDF p. 14) Providers that focus on these touchpoints may start seeing improvements in retention. Parents want staff who can offer individualised care and support child development (PDF p. 39) and they also rank safe, secure care as the most important factor in choosing a facility (PDF p. 39). Nurseries that invest resources to further train staff in more personalised care and safety protocols are going to be well-positioned to meet these expectations, strengthen parent loyalty.
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Segment Customers into Personas and Discern Their Motivations
The study identifies three customer personas in the UK childcare sector: Explorers, Balancers, and Partners. Each group has different motivations and uses for childcare: (PDF p. 18)
- Explorers: These are the lightest users at just 1-2 days a week. They often come from middle-income families working in sectors like healthcare who also value social interaction and flexibility. They’re the least likely to switch providers but are also less interested in premium offerings, likely because of their cost concerns. (PDF p. 24)
- These users tend to use childcare services for 3 days a week. They’re sensitive to pricing and responsive to changes in subsidies, possibly because of cost concerns and the consistent desire to maintain their current work-life balance. While they represent the highest churn risk, they may also increase usage if they receive more financial support (PDF p. 30).
- These high-income, dual-working families have the highest commitments, leaving their children in childcare 4-5 days a week. They’re often highly educated, which may be why they prioritise their children’s academic development and staff credentials. They are also willing to pay for quality services like nutritious meals and extended hours. They are less likely to churn than Balancers, but their exacting standards must be met consistently to guarantee retention( PDF p. 36).
Knowing which group families tend to fall into can help providers prioritise limited resources to better meet parents’ expectations. Just as importantly, they can help them better communicate the value that they’re providing, strengthening retention.
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Unearth the Impact of Curriculum, Staff Changes, Subsidies, and Pricing on Provider Choice
About 90% of nursery families are satisfied or very satisfied with their children’s current curriculum, compared to 83% of wraparound care families (PDF p. 38).
Digging deeper, however, we see that parents value different things. In all cases, better communication can be key to helping parents see the value of the services they’re paying for. The most valued aspects of curricula include: (PDF p. 39)
- A balance between academics and play – 48%,
- Outdoor learning opportunities – 41%
- Regular assessments – 39%
- Social-emotional learning – 27%
- Customisation for individual interests- 25%
- STEM, arts, or languages integration- 22%
- Support for special needs -21%
There are some differences in parents’ preferred communication methods. Across all parent types, parents tend to prefer curriculum updates through direct contact. Offering the kinds of channels parents want can build trust and help families feel more connected to their child’s development, improving retention. (PDF p. 40).
- Parent-teacher meetings 53%
- Newsletters – 30%
- Surveys – 30%,
- Planning Sessions – 30%
When it comes to staff, a clear majority of parents rank safe and secure care as the top attribute, followed by and. Ratings for some areas like added individualised attention and better qualification may be down to perception. Better hiring, training, and communication practices may also help parents feel assured that providers are delivering in all these areas. (PDF p. 41-42)
- Safe and secure care -59%
- Warm, friendly attitudes -52%
- Support for learning and growth – 43%
- Individualised attention – 36%
- Better qualifications – 30%
Subsidy changes are also directly reshaping the market. Around 39% of families increased usage due to enhanced subsidies, with the majority of these families adding up to three extra days. (PDF p. 44) Further reinforcing this, 54% of families say they would consider switching providers based on future subsidy changes, (PDF p. 45) and an overwhelming majority (96%) are open to reinvesting savings from subsidies in enhanced services like trips, nutrition, or wellness offerings. (PDF p. 46)
What’s Next for Providers?
The UK’s nursery and wraparound care providers will have to think beyond basic service delivery if they want to keep up with British parents’ changing demands. While there are plenty who still consider these services as just a means to keep their children occupied while they work, the data from the study shows that families now view them as important in their children’s holistic development.
Critically, families are showing themselves willing to invest more if providers demonstrate clear value through better safety, staff excellence, developmental outcomes, and responsive communication.
In a childcare market marked by rising churn and evolving expectations, being proactive could make all the difference. Active listening, understanding customer priorities, and smart segmentation strategies will help these services keep up with the times. Leveraging an education CXM platform should also help these services develop a refined understanding of parent demands, not just as they are in the present but even as they evolve.