Types of childcare

Day nurseries

Day nurseries provide full and part time care for children from around 3 months up until school age.
Most offer care from 8am until 6pm and are open all year round, including during school holidays.
They are registered and inspected by Ofsted

Pre-school

Pre-schools are often run by a voluntary committee
Usually care for children from the 2 years old up until the go to school.
Usually open during terms time
Offer sessions, usually 3 hours in length but can be longer.
Some pre-schools have lunch and breakfast clubs which means your child can attend for the equivalent of a school day.
Each pre-school sets its own admissions policy.

Nursery classes and foundation units

Some infant and primary schools have a nursery class or foundation unit and:

offer sessions, usually 3 hours in length
follow school terms dates
some have lunch and breakfast clubs which means your child can attend for the equivalent of a school day

Admission arrangements

To find admission arrangements for nursery classes and foundation units.

There is no automatic transfer from a school nursery class to the reception class. You need to apply to the school through the schools admission process when your child is old enough.

Childminders

Childminders look after children in their own home.
Care for children of all ages, including siblings of different ages.
Offer before or after school or holiday care for older children up to the age of 14.
They can often be flexible about the hours they work.
Most will drop off or pick up children from local schools, pre-schools and nurseries.
Take the children to local parks, playgrounds, parent and toddler groups and libraries.
They are registered and inspected by Ofsted.

When a childminder should register with Ofsted

Childminders who look after children under 8 for a total of more than 2 hours per day and for any form of reward must by law be registered with the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).

Before a childminder is registered to look after children Ofsted will usually interview them and inspect their home. This is known as a registration visit.
An inspection, which will include a published inspection report, can happen any time up to 30 months after a childminder is first registered.
You can find each childminder's Ofsted unique reference number on their community directory listing

Out-of-school care and wraparound childcare

Out-of-school care include:

breakfast clubs
after-school clubs
holiday clubs

They usually run from a school site, leisure centre or other location, during the times schools are not open.

Depending on the provider, they can offer:

care for children aged from 3 to 14 years
collection from or drop off at a specific school
various activities for example sports, craft, skill workshops

Further information about out-of-school-care can be found on our wraparound childcare web page.