Childcare in St. Helens
St. Helens has 31 day nurseries, 4 pre-schools, 7 childminders and 3 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 34 of them and rated 33 Good or better, 6 of them Outstanding. 11 have never been inspected, which usually means recently registered. Of those that publish a price, a full day runs from £36 to £51, typically £45. Across St Helens there are 33 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 St Helens, 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.
40 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.
- Dec 2025Closed Little Angels Nursery School Full day care
- Dec 2025Closed St Paul's Pre-School Sessional day care
- Dec 2025Closed St.Julie's Club Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Opened Little Explorers: Blackbrook Full day care
- Jun 2025Opened Little Explorers: Garswood Full day care
- Jun 2025Closed Willow Park Day Nursery Full day care
What people ask about childcare in St. Helens
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
How much does nursery cost in St. Helens?
Of the 5 full-day rates published by settings in St. Helens, the typical price is £45 a day, ranging from £36 to £51. These are prices the settings publish themselves, not an average of quotes.
Which nurseries in St. Helens take funded hours?
5 of the 45 settings in St. Helens 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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.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 St. Helens rated Outstanding?
Yes. 6 of the 34 settings Ofsted has inspected in St. Helens hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in St. Helens take babies?
40 settings in St. Helens 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 St. Helens?
St Helens has 33 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 St. Helens
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.