Childcare in Canterbury
Canterbury has 24 day nurseries, 16 pre-schools, 8 school nursery classes, 12 childminders and 11 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 34 of them and rated 30 Good or better, 6 of them Outstanding. 37 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.
12 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 2026Opened Stagecoach Canterbury- St Anselm's Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Opened Bluebells Kindergarten Canterbury Full day care
- Jun 2026Opened The Firs Nursery CIO Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Closed Activate Camps @ The King's School Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Badgers Bridge Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Closed The Firs Nursery Full day care
- Dec 2025Closed Kumon Canterbury Study Centre Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Super Camps- Canterbury Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Teamtheme Holiday Sports Camp Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Camp Beaumont - Junior King's Canterbury Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Hersden Under 5's Project Full day care
- Dec 2025Opened Canterbury Kumon Out-of-school day care
What people ask about childcare in Canterbury
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
Which nurseries in Canterbury take funded hours?
16 of the 71 settings in Canterbury 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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.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 Canterbury rated Outstanding?
Yes. 6 of the 34 settings Ofsted has inspected in Canterbury hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in Canterbury take babies?
53 settings in Canterbury 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 Canterbury?
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 Canterbury
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.