NurseryWise Childcare in England
Kent

Childcare in Dover

Dover has 18 day nurseries, 3 pre-schools, 4 school nursery classes, 1 childminder and 7 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 21 of them, and rated every one Good or better, 2 of them Outstanding. 12 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.

33places per 100 under-fives in Kent, against 32 for England
100%of the 21 inspected here are Good or better, 2 Outstanding
10 of 33are recorded as taking the funded hours; the rest are unknown, not a no

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.

Everything 33Day nurseries 18Pre-schools 3School nurseries 4Childminders 1After-school clubs 7
No filterTakes under-twosTakes funded hoursOpen all dayPublishes pricesSortBest ratedCheapestA to Z

10 settings match. Search by postcode to sort them by how far they really are.

Day nurseries 7

Abbey Pre-school

Day nursery · St. Peter & St. Pauls Church, Minnis Lane, Dover, CT17 0RG

OutstandingTakes funded hours£6.00 an hourBirth to 8+08:45 to 17:45, 4 days a week30 placesOpen for decades
07702453234Their website

Next Steps Preschool

Day nursery · St Martins Church Hall, Church Road, Dover, CT17 9LW

GoodTakes funded hours£44.10 a dayBirth to 5From 2 years08:30 to 23:30, 5 days a week50 placesLong established
01304 226234Their website

Jack in a Box Nursery

Day nursery · Aycliffe Cp School, St. Davids Avenue, Dover, CT17 9HJ

GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+08:00 to 16:00, 5 days a week★ 4.9 Google, 1026 placesOpen for decades
01304448384Their website

School nursery classes 3

Tick two or three to compare them.

Recently

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.

  • Dec 2025Opened St Mary's Wraparound Out-of-school day care
  • Dec 2025Opened Guston Wraparound Out-of-school day care
  • Dec 2025Opened Tiger Club - Whinless Down Out-of-school day care
  • Jun 2025Opened Lydden Wraparound Out-of-school day care
  • Jun 2025Closed Dover Academy Out-of-school day care
Questions

What people ask about childcare in Dover

Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.

Which nurseries in Dover take funded hours?

10 of the 33 settings in Dover 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 Dover rated Outstanding?

Yes. 2 of the 21 settings Ofsted has inspected in Dover hold an Outstanding grade.

Which nurseries in Dover take babies?

28 settings in Dover 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 Dover?

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.

Nearby

Towns close to Dover

Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.

Deal14 settings · 6.6 milesFolkestone41 settings · 6.7 milesSandwich5 settings · 9.6 milesHythe10 settings · 10.8 milesCanterbury71 settings · 11.9 milesRamsgate28 settings · 14.4 miles
All townsKent