Childcare in Wirral
Wirral has 34 day nurseries, 12 pre-schools, 44 school nursery classes, 25 childminders and 14 after-school clubs. Ofsted has inspected 56 of them and rated 54 Good or better, 6 of them Outstanding. 73 have never been inspected, which usually means recently registered. Across Wirral there are 31 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 Wirral, 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 75 school nursery classes across Wirral, because nobody publishes how many children they take.
43 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 S4YC @ Chapelhill Sessional day care
- Jun 2026Closed Bright Smiles Day Nursery Full day care
- Dec 2025Closed Little Robins At Lingham Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Whizz Kids Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Firbobs @ Thornton Hough Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Firbobs Out of School Club (Juniors) Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Playzone at Christ the King Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Closed Lady Mount Pre-School Group Full day care
- Dec 2025Closed Brookhurst Preschool Group Sessional day care
- Dec 2025Closed St Agnes Pre-school Sessional day care
- Dec 2025Opened Firbobs@Thornton Hough Out-of-school day care
- Dec 2025Opened Stagecoach Wirral St Johns Out-of-school day care
What people ask about childcare in Wirral
Answered from the figures on this page, so they stay in step with it.
Which nurseries in Wirral take funded hours?
47 of the 129 settings in Wirral 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 Councils do not publish a list of approved providers, so the rest are unknown rather than a no.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 Wirral rated Outstanding?
Yes. 6 of the 56 settings Ofsted has inspected in Wirral hold an Outstanding grade.
Which nurseries in Wirral take babies?
78 settings in Wirral 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 Wirral?
Wirral has 31 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 Wirral
Worth widening the search to, especially if you drive to work.