Childcare in Ashford (Kent)
Ashford (Kent) has 32 day nurseries, 10 pre-schools, 10 school nursery classes, 22 childminders and 13 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 55 of them and rated 53 Good or better, 6 of them Outstanding. 33 have never been inspected, which usually means recently registered. Across Kent there are 33 places per 100 children under five, about the same as England as a whole at 32.
Places per 100 under-fives is registered capacity at nurseries, pre-schools and childminders across Kent, divided by the children aged 0 to 4 who live there at the 2021 Census. It compares areas; it is not a count of free places today. It also leaves out the 138 school nursery classes across Kent, because nobody publishes how many children they take.
32 settings match. Search by postcode to sort them by how far they really are.
What has changed here
Ofsted does not publish closures, so we work them out by comparing releases. Worth knowing if you are working from an old list.
- Jun 2026Closed Junior Adventures Group @ Mersham Primary School TN25 Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Little Acorns Pre-School Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Opened Headcorn Preschool-Day Nursery Full day care
- Dec 2025Opened Bridges Day Nursery Limited Full day care
- Dec 2025Opened Little Acorns Pre-School Sessional day care
- Dec 2025Opened Junior Adventures Group @ Mersham Primary School TN25 Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2025Opened Teachsport Canterbury Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2025Closed Canterbury House Nursery Full day care
- Jun 2025Closed Active Camps at Spring Grove School Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2025Closed Abacus Nursery Full day care
- Jun 2025Closed Camp Beaumont - Grosvenor Hall Out-of-school day care
What people ask about childcare in Ashford (Kent)
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
Which nurseries in Ashford (Kent) take funded hours?
20 of the 88 settings in Ashford (Kent) are recorded as taking the government funded hours. Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.
Are any nurseries in Ashford (Kent) rated Outstanding?
Yes. 6 of the 55 settings Ofsted has inspected in Ashford (Kent) hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in Ashford (Kent) take babies?
73 settings in Ashford (Kent) are registered to take children under two. Ofsted's register does not say whether a setting runs a baby room or has space in it, so ring before you plan around it.
Is it hard to get a nursery place in Ashford (Kent)?
Kent has 33 registered childcare places for every 100 children under five, against 32 across England. That is registered capacity rather than free places, so it compares areas rather than telling you what is available this week.
Towns close to Ashford (Kent)
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.