Childcare in Chelmsford
Chelmsford has 50 day nurseries, 29 pre-schools, 13 school nursery classes, 35 childminders and 40 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 88 of them and rated 86 Good or better, 19 of them Outstanding. 79 have never been inspected, which usually means recently registered. Across Essex there are 36 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 Essex, 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 154 school nursery classes across Essex, because nobody publishes how many children they take.
167 settings, best rated first. 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 Kings Camps Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Opened Little Faces Nursery School Full day care
- Jun 2026Opened St Johns Danbury @ EPC Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Opened The Hillside Barn Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Closed Meadgate Nursery Full day care
- Jun 2026Closed Little Faces Childcare Ltd Full day care
- Jun 2026Closed Little Waltham Wonders Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Closed Hillside Playcare Sessional day care
- Dec 2025Closed The Woodland Montessori Group Full day care
- Dec 2025Closed All Saints Pre-School Sessional day care
- Dec 2025Closed Lime Hall School Club Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Small Steps Daycare Sessional day care
What people ask about childcare in Chelmsford
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
Which nurseries in Chelmsford take funded hours?
32 of the 167 settings in Chelmsford 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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.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 Chelmsford rated Outstanding?
Yes. 19 of the 88 settings Ofsted has inspected in Chelmsford hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in Chelmsford take babies?
134 settings in Chelmsford 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 Chelmsford?
Essex has 36 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 Chelmsford
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.