Childcare in Cambridge
Cambridge has 66 day nurseries, 39 pre-schools, 32 school nursery classes, 50 childminders and 77 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 125 of them and rated 118 Good or better, 33 of them Outstanding. 139 have never been inspected, which usually means recently registered. Of those that publish a price, a full day runs from £38 to £114, typically £108. Across Cambridgeshire there are 38 places per 100 children under five, better supplied than England as a whole at 32.
Places per 100 under-fives is registered capacity at nurseries, pre-schools and childminders across Cambridgeshire, 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 94 school nursery classes across Cambridgeshire, because nobody publishes how many children they take.
207 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 Seesaw Pre-school CIO Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Closed Kids Choice Fen Drayton Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Premier Wraparound Care at Chesterton Primary School Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Football Fun Camp Cambourne Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Little Owl Pre-School Full day care
- Jun 2026Closed Domino Pre-School Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Opened Language Nursery Ross Street Full day care
- Jun 2026Opened Next Thing Education Camps Ltd. - St Laurence Catholic Primary School Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Opened Football Fun Camp Cambourne Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Opened National Performing Academy – Cambridge (Hills Road) Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Opened Domino Pre-School CIO Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Opened Football Fun Factory - Burwell Out-of-school day care
What people ask about childcare in Cambridge
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
How much does nursery cost in Cambridge?
Of the 8 full-day rates published by settings in Cambridge, the typical price is £108 a day, ranging from £38 to £114. These are prices the settings publish themselves, not an average of quotes.
Which nurseries in Cambridge take funded hours?
59 of the 264 settings in Cambridge 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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.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 Cambridge rated Outstanding?
Yes. 33 of the 125 settings Ofsted has inspected in Cambridge hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in Cambridge take babies?
207 settings in Cambridge 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 Cambridge?
Cambridgeshire has 38 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 Cambridge
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.