Cost of Nursery Schools

[robynyoung]

Hi all, we're moving to England from South Africa in the next couple of months and we're trying to work out our potential budget for when we're there.
Please could someone give me an idea of the cost of Nursery Schools per week/per month; we will be living somewhere in Berkshire; Maidenhead area. Our daughter is turning 2 in September but will only go to Nursery around 3 years old.
Thanks so much for the help!

It varies across the country depending on area and demand, anything from £40 - £120 per day.

Mine were in nursery a few years ago and were £50 per day 8am - 6pm. This includes snacks but meals were extra.

There are a couple of different kinds of nurseries:
Nursery school or school-based nursery classes where generally they are just school hours, 9am-3pm during school term times and take children from age 3 or sometimes 2.

Private or community pre-schools, quite often run by charities or parent committees and often based in church halls or community centres - again tend to take children from age 2 or 3 for school hours.

Day nurseries, which are open 8-6 or 7.30-6.30, take children from babies and are open all year round.

A full day care nursery could be anything from £40-£70 a day. Pre-schools often charge by the session 9-12 or 12-3 and might be £12-£18 a session.

School nurseries are usually free and just offer funded hours - all children qualify for 15 hours a week, term time only from the term after their 3rd birthday. Children with two working parents might get 30 hours. If your child turns 3 in September they will get funding from the January term.

Private nurseries also often take the funding - some will let you have 9am-3pm term time free, and some will just knock the funding off your bill.

My son used to go to Silchester House nursery in Maidenhead. It is around £1,600/month 8am - 6pm. If you both work then you get tax free childcare (~£2,000 year off effectively) and once your child reaches ~3 years 4 months you will get 15/30 hours free depending on if you both work or not. Following the free hours fees will drop to around £600/month.

Pretty much all nurseries have a waiting list. I'd recommend looking at the Ofsted website, reading reports and then visiting a few when you arrive. You can search based on distance here:

reports.ofsted.gov.uk/