Childcare in Ely
Ely has 13 day nurseries, 11 pre-schools, 12 school nursery classes, 14 childminders and 15 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 35 of them and rated 31 Good or better, 7 of them Outstanding. 30 have never been inspected, which usually means recently registered. Across Cambridgeshire there are 38 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 Cambridgeshire, 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 94 school nursery classes across Cambridgeshire, because nobody publishes how many children they take.
65 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 Football Fun Factory - Soham Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Soham Playgroup Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Closed Tiddlywinks Pre-School Sessional day care
- Dec 2025Closed Smartkidz @ Haddenham Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Wildawood Forest School Sessional day care
- Dec 2025Opened Cathedral View Childcare - Littleport Full day care
- Dec 2025Opened Butterflies Forest School Perryways Sessional day care
- Jun 2025Opened Home From Home Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2025Opened Busy Bees at Ely Full day care
- Jun 2025Closed Harlequin Childcare Full day care
- Jun 2025Closed Butterflies Forest School Sessional day care
What people ask about childcare in Ely
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
Which nurseries in Ely take funded hours?
17 of the 65 settings in Ely 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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.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 Ely rated Outstanding?
Yes. 7 of the 35 settings Ofsted has inspected in Ely hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in Ely take babies?
45 settings in Ely 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 Ely?
Cambridgeshire has 38 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 Ely
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.