Childcare in Dronfield
Dronfield has 5 day nurseries, 4 pre-schools, 3 school nursery classes, 3 childminders and 4 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 11 of them and rated 9 Good or better, 1 of them Outstanding. 8 have never been inspected, which usually means recently registered. Across Derbyshire there are 31 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 Derbyshire, 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 167 school nursery classes across Derbyshire, because nobody publishes how many children they take.
19 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.
- Dec 2025Opened Gosforth Preschool Sessional day care
- Dec 2025Closed Lenthall Childrens Club Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Gosforth Pre-School Full day care
What people ask about childcare in Dronfield
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
Which nurseries in Dronfield take funded hours?
6 of the 19 settings in Dronfield 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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.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 Dronfield rated Outstanding?
Yes. 1 of the 11 settings Ofsted has inspected in Dronfield hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in Dronfield take babies?
15 settings in Dronfield 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 Dronfield?
Derbyshire has 31 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 Dronfield
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.