Overwhelmed by nursery system in the UK

[ElectraDP]

Hi, I'm an expecting mum living in central London, but originally from the EU. I'm really not used to the British school system and currently a bit overwhelmed by the number of people who are suggesting to sign-up already for nurseries (I am due in April) and even pre-register for pre-schools as soon as the baby is born. Are all these pre-registrations really necessary to get into good nurseries, even if we're interested in private providers? Thank you so much for all the suggestions.

More so with private providers, it really depends where you live, but nice leafy part of london and you're looking at excellent Montessori nurseries, yes start looking now.

It completely depends on the area. Where in London are you? All nurseries for under 3 year olds are private, school nurseries start from 3.

There is a website called Childcare Choices that you might find useful.

Why not call some nurseries near you and ask what their waiting lists look like?

Every nursery in my local town is fully booked until 2026. If childcare is necessary, you will need to register.

Absolutely! As others have said all nurseries will be private, so if you're returning to work after mat leave you'll want to get something lined up. It'll be useful for you as well to know the timings/costs for making future plans 😊

Nursery is a bit of an umbrella term. People use it to mean 2 things.

Nurseries that children go to from baby hood for care whilst their parents work. They are open all day and all year round and are largely private. Also called day nurseries or day care.

Then nursery which can be located in a school premises where children attend for pre school education, usually from aged 3/4 depending on birthday. They are largely state run and are open school hours during term time.

There are also childminders which provide daycare/ childcare in the cms own home alongside fo several families.

Nannies are employed by individual families and look after them in the child's home.

If you are a working family, both earning a minimum of £183 / week and not more than £100k per year (individually) then you may be eligible for 30 hours of funded by the government childcare from 9 months and up. This can be used at day nurseries or childminders but not nannies. See childcare choices website.

Due to this scheme, places are fillling quickly and so yes waiting lists are long and you would be best looking soon if you need childcare to return to work.

I looked in April last year, ie before he was born, for a place in June 2025. Of the 3 I looked at, 1 nursery was already full, 1 did have space but we would have taken the last place and 1 had space.

Thank you so much, this is all so helpful! We live in Kensington, therefore definitely sounds like I should start already calling day nurseries asap. Appreciate all the thoughts :)