Childcare in Lowestoft
Lowestoft has 8 day nurseries, 8 pre-schools, 17 school nursery classes, 19 childminders and 1 after-school club. Ofsted has inspected 25 of them and rated 24 Good or better, 2 of them Outstanding. 28 have never been inspected, which usually means recently registered. Across Suffolk there are 30 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 Suffolk, 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 127 school nursery classes across Suffolk, because nobody publishes how many children they take.
35 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 Premier Carlton Colville Wrap Around Care Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Opened EA Gymnastics - Lowestoft Full day care
- Jun 2025Closed Victoria Pre School Full day care
What people ask about childcare in Lowestoft
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
Which nurseries in Lowestoft take funded hours?
20 of the 53 settings in Lowestoft 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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.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 Lowestoft rated Outstanding?
Yes. 2 of the 25 settings Ofsted has inspected in Lowestoft hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in Lowestoft take babies?
35 settings in Lowestoft 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 Lowestoft?
Suffolk has 30 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 Lowestoft
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.