Childcare in Cheltenham
Cheltenham has 48 day nurseries, 23 pre-schools, 16 school nursery classes, 17 childminders and 32 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 68 of them, and rated every one Good or better, 7 of them Outstanding. 69 have never been inspected, which usually means recently registered. Of those that publish a price, a full day runs from £66 to £95, typically £84. Across Gloucestershire 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 Gloucestershire, 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 89 school nursery classes across Gloucestershire, because nobody publishes how many children they take.
68 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 Just Camps Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Stow-On-The-Wold Nursery School Full day care
- Jun 2026Closed Sprint Active Clubs Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Progressive Sports @ St Andrew's Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Little Pioneers Nursery and Pre School Cheltenham Park Full day care
- Jun 2026Opened The Reddings Playgroup Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Opened Averiss, Sandy
- Jun 2026Opened Just Camps Cheltenham Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Opened Atlas Camps Coberley Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Opened Your Co-Op Little Pioneers Nursery and Pre-School Cheltenham Park Full day care
- Jun 2026Opened Cotswold Active Camps Stow Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Opened Stow-on-the-Wold Early Years Support Full day care
What people ask about childcare in Cheltenham
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
How much does nursery cost in Cheltenham?
Of the 16 full-day rates published by settings in Cheltenham, the typical price is £84 a day, ranging from £66 to £95. These are prices the settings publish themselves, not an average of quotes.
Which nurseries in Cheltenham take funded hours?
35 of the 137 settings in Cheltenham 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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.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 Cheltenham rated Outstanding?
Yes. 7 of the 68 settings Ofsted has inspected in Cheltenham hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in Cheltenham take babies?
104 settings in Cheltenham 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 Cheltenham?
Gloucestershire 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 Cheltenham
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.