Childcare in Dartford (Kent)
Dartford (Kent) has 24 day nurseries, 16 pre-schools, 5 school nursery classes, 14 childminders and 13 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 40 of them and rated 39 Good or better, 2 of them Outstanding. 32 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.
60 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 Happy Orkids at Dartford Limited Full day care
- Jun 2026Opened Starkidsstedmunds Nursery Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Closed Ymca Thames Gateway Temple Hill Nursery Full day care
- Jun 2026Closed West Hill Life Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Munchkin Sports River Mill Primary After School Care Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Progressive Sports @ Dartford Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Kip McGrath Education Centres Dartford
- Dec 2025Closed Kreative Learning Childcare Full day care
- Dec 2025Closed Little Gem's Childcare Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Opened Kip McGrath Dartford Full day care
- Dec 2025Opened Get Creative School Clubs Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2025Opened Progressive Sports @ St Anselm's Out-of-school day care
What people ask about childcare in Dartford (Kent)
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
Which nurseries in Dartford (Kent) take funded hours?
13 of the 72 settings in Dartford (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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.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 Dartford (Kent) rated Outstanding?
Yes. 2 of the 40 settings Ofsted has inspected in Dartford (Kent) hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in Dartford (Kent) take babies?
60 settings in Dartford (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 Dartford (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 Dartford (Kent)
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.