Childcare in Harwich
Harwich has 2 day nurseries, 3 pre-schools, 3 school nursery classes, 3 childminders and 1 after-school club. Ofsted has inspected 8 of them, and rated every one Good or better. 4 have never been inspected, which usually means recently registered. Across Essex 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 Essex, 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 154 school nursery classes across Essex, because nobody publishes how many children they take.
2 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 The Lighthouse Holiday Club Out-of-school day care
What people ask about childcare in Harwich
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
Which nurseries in Harwich take funded hours?
5 of the 12 settings in Harwich 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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.
Which nurseries in Harwich take babies?
8 settings in Harwich 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 Harwich?
Essex 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 Harwich
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.