Childcare in Portsmouth
Portsmouth has 45 day nurseries, 15 pre-schools, 16 school nursery classes, 8 childminders and 30 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 56 of them and rated 50 Good or better, 5 of them Outstanding. 58 have never been inspected, which usually means recently registered. Across Portsmouth there are 32 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 Portsmouth, 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 22 school nursery classes across Portsmouth, because nobody publishes how many children they take.
30 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 Discovery Nursery School (Portsmouth) Full day care
- Jun 2026Opened North End Nursery Full day care
- Jun 2026Closed Binsteed Childcare Services Limited Full day care
- Jun 2026Closed Zuko Sports Holiday Camp (KANP) Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Kritzinger, Lisha
- Jun 2026Closed Super Camps- Portsmouth Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Oliver's Rainbow Nursery Full day care
- Jun 2026Closed Top Tots Day Nursery Union Street Ltd Full day care
- Jun 2026Closed Dream Catchers playschool Cosham Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Closed Mulberry Court Pre School Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Closed CM Sports Holiday Club Out-of-school day care
- Jun 2026Closed Discovery Nursery School (Portsmouth) Full day care
What people ask about childcare in Portsmouth
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
Which nurseries in Portsmouth take funded hours?
27 of the 114 settings in Portsmouth 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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.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 Portsmouth rated Outstanding?
Yes. 5 of the 56 settings Ofsted has inspected in Portsmouth hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in Portsmouth take babies?
86 settings in Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth?
Portsmouth has 32 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 Portsmouth
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.