Nurseries

Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)

Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.

The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.

Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.

Source: Ofsted reports

Ofsted grades before November 2025 (England)

Inspections before November 2025 gave one overall grade on a four-point scale: Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, Inadequate. Ofsted also graded the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, and said whether safeguarding was effective.

Settings keep their last grade until Ofsted visits again, so many nurseries still show a grade from this older scale.

Source: Ofsted reports

Care Inspectorate Wales ratings

Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) rates childcare settings on four themes: well-being, care and development, environment, and leadership and management. Each theme is rated Excellent, Good, Adequate, Poor.

There is no overall rating: read the four themes together.

Source: Care Inspectorate Wales

Care Inspectorate grades (Scotland)

The Care Inspectorate grades day care of children against key questions such as care, play and learning; setting; staff team; and leadership. Each is graded on a six-point scale: 6 Excellent, 5 Very good, 4 Good, 3 Adequate, 2 Weak, 1 Unsatisfactory.

Not every key question is graded at every inspection, so two settings may show different questions.

Source: Care Inspectorate

Funded childcare hours in England

All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.

Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.

Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.

The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.

Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)

Funded childcare hours in Wales

Parents of 3 and 4 year olds can apply for up to 30 hours a week of government funded nursery education and childcare (the Childcare Offer for Wales): at least 10 hours of nursery education and up to 20 hours of childcare, for up to 48 weeks of the year. Nursery education hours are applied for separately, through your council.

Flying Start funds 12.5 hours a week of childcare for 2 year olds. It is being made available across Wales starting with the most disadvantaged areas.

Source: GOV.WALES: Get up to 30 hours of childcare for 3 and 4 year olds · GOV.WALES: Get help from Flying Start (checked 31 October 2026)

Funded early learning and childcare in Scotland

3 to 5 year olds can get up to 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare a year. That is around 30 hours a week if used only in school term time, or around 22 hours a week if used all year.

Some 2 year olds can get funded early learning and childcare too.

Source: mygov.scot: Funded early learning and childcare (checked 31 October 2026)