School nursery or private nursery? How to choose, and what it means for Reception
School nursery or private nursery? Compare hours, ratios, costs, funded hours and inspections, and see whether a nursery place helps you get into Reception.
A school nursery class and a private day nursery can both give your child a good start, but they are built for different needs. A school nursery is usually led by a qualified teacher, is free for the 15 hours every 3 and 4 year old is entitled to, and runs short sessions in term time only. A private day nursery often takes babies, opens long days for most of the year and charges for the hours that funding does not cover. One thing surprises many parents: a place in a school's nursery class does not by itself get your child a Reception place at that school. You still apply for Reception separately, by 15 January in the year your child starts school, and the nursery only counts if the school's own admission arrangements say so.
This guide is for parents in England choosing care for a child aged roughly 2 to 4. It compares hours, staffing, cost and inspections, explains what the School Admissions Code says about Reception, and shows how to apply for each. For what to look for on a visit, see our guide to choosing a nursery.
The main types of setting
"School nursery" and "private nursery" each cover several kinds of setting.
| Setting | What it is | Ages usually taken |
|---|---|---|
| Nursery class in a state primary or infant school | Part of the school, run by its head and governors or academy trust | 3 and 4, sometimes 2 |
| Maintained nursery school | A separate state school just for young children | Mainly 3 and 4; most are registered to take 2 year olds, and a few take babies |
| Nursery on a school site run by another provider | A private, voluntary or council-run nursery that operates from the school's premises | Varies |
| Private or voluntary day nursery | A nursery run by a company, charity or individual, registered with Ofsted | Babies to school age |
| Pre-school or playgroup | Shorter sessions, often in term time, registered with Ofsted | Mostly 2 to 4 |
| Independent school nursery | The nursery or pre-prep class of a fee-paying school | Varies |
Three points behind the table matter:
- Nursery schools are rare. The government's GIAS register lists fewer than 400 open local authority nursery schools in England, against thousands of primary schools that record nursery provision.
- "On the school site" does not mean "run by the school". The DfE says a school-based nursery "may operate independently from the school or could be run by the school". A separate provider is registered and inspected in its own right, and runs its own admissions.
- The name is not a guide. Some private nurseries call themselves nursery schools, so ask how a setting is registered and who runs it.
Childminders are another option, often with flexible hours. FindMySchool does not list childminders; your council's Family Information Service can tell you who is registered locally.
School nursery and day nursery compared
This is what is typical. Individual settings vary, so check the details with each one.
| School nursery class | Private or voluntary day nursery | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | Often 15 hours a week as five morning or afternoon sessions of about 3 hours. Some offer 30 hours or full days | Often long days, such as 7.30am to 6pm, full or part time |
| Weeks a year | Usually school term time only | Often open most of the year, up to 52 weeks |
| Ages | Usually from the term, or the September, after the third birthday | Often from babies |
| Staffing for 3 and 4 year olds | A school teacher must be part of the staffing in a maintained school nursery class | A graduate teacher is not required; ratios depend on whether one works with the children |
| Cost | Funded hours free; extra hours, meals and wraparound care may be charged | Funded hours free; extra hours, meals and consumables charged |
| Funded hours | Mostly the universal 15 hours for 3 and 4 year olds; some offer 30 hours or places for 2 year olds | Can offer every entitlement, including 30 hours from 9 months; ask which it takes |
| Inspection | Usually inspected as part of the school | Inspected by Ofsted as an early years setting |
| Reception | Separate application needed; attendance usually gives no priority | Separate application needed |
Knowsley Council's 2025/26 nursery arrangements, for example, say its schools "typically" run five morning and five afternoon sessions of three hours each, and the day nursery hours are the pattern Dudley Council describes. Neither is a rule.
Staffing and ratios: what the numbers really mean
You may read that private nurseries have "better ratios" because they have one adult for every eight 3 year olds, while a school nursery can have one for every 13. That comparison misses the teacher. The rules come from the EYFS statutory framework in force from 1 September 2026.
Children aged 3 and over
| Setting | Minimum staffing |
|---|---|
| Maintained nursery school, or nursery class in a maintained school | 1 adult to 13 children, including at least one school teacher and one other member of staff qualified to level 3 |
| Nursery class in an academy, free school or independent school | 1 to 13 when a qualified teacher (for example with Qualified Teacher Status, QTS) or an equivalent works directly with the children; otherwise 1 to 8 |
| Day nursery or pre-school | 1 to 13 when a person with QTS, Early Years Teacher Status or Early Years Professional Status works directly with the children; otherwise 1 to 8, with at least one member of staff at level 3 and half of the others at level 2 |
So the 1 to 13 ratio in a school nursery comes with a teacher, and a private nursery can use it only when a graduate of that kind works with the children. If a school nursery class runs extra sessions outside the school day or in the holidays without a teacher, it can use a 1 to 8 ratio instead.
Children under 3 have the same minimums in every group or school-based setting: one adult to three children under 2, and one to five 2 year olds. All these ratios are minimums, counted across the whole setting rather than room by room.
Two other differences are worth knowing. Maintained schools, academies and maintained nursery schools must name a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO), while other group settings are expected to. And the DfE says school-based nurseries "see lower staff turnover" and "serve a greater proportion of children with SEND". That is a national pattern, not a promise about any one setting, so ask each nursery how long its staff have been there.
Hours, holidays and wraparound care
For many working families this decides the question. Fifteen hours in term time covers less than half a working week, so you need a plan for the rest. The usual options are:
- Longer hours at the school. Some schools offer 30 hours, full days or paid sessions around the funded ones; Harrow Council, for example, says 30 hours and flexible times are available at some nurseries.
- Splitting the week. Your child can attend a school nursery in the morning and a childminder or day nursery at other times. Under the DfE's statutory guidance, funded hours can be taken at up to two sites in a single day.
- Holiday care. School nursery classes usually close in the school holidays, so check what else you can use.
Two official details catch parents out:
- Working parents' hours and wraparound care. GOV.UK says you cannot claim Free Childcare for Working Parents for care outside school hours if your child is attending a state-funded school nursery or Reception class. If you plan to combine a school nursery place with funded hours elsewhere, ask your council how this applies before you commit.
- Free breakfast clubs start at Reception. The free breakfast clubs being rolled out in primary schools from April 2026 are for pupils in Reception to Year 6, according to the DfE guidance.
Tax-Free Childcare can help with the gaps. GOV.UK says it can pay for childcare provided by a school before your child starts primary school, including nursery school fees, and for care outside school hours such as breakfast and after-school clubs.
Costs and funded hours
The funded entitlements are the same wherever you use them; our guide to funded childcare hours explains who qualifies and when hours start. What differs is which entitlements a setting offers and what it charges on top.
- State school nursery classes deliver the universal 15 hours for 3 and 4 year olds. Some also offer the working parents' 30 hours, and some take funded 2 year olds. A school that cares for children under 2 must register that provision with Ofsted.
- Day nurseries and pre-schools can offer every entitlement, including the working parents' hours from 9 months, but none has to offer them all. They charge for any hours beyond your funded ones.
- Independent school nurseries charge fees, and some also accept funded hours. Nursery classes made up wholly, or almost wholly, of children below compulsory school age are exempt from the VAT on private school fees; HMRC gives 90% or more as an example.
The charging rules in the statutory guidance apply to schools as well as nurseries. The funded hours must be free, with no mandatory charges. A school or nursery can charge for meals, consumables, optional activities and extra hours, as long as those charges are voluntary and you can opt out. Our nursery guide sets out the full list.
Meals are one difference. Under the statutory guidance, councils must provide free school meals for a registered pupil of a state-funded school who attends both before and after lunch and meets the free school meals criteria, so a child in a school nursery class on a full day may qualify.
Does a school nursery place get you into Reception?
Usually not, and never automatically. This is the part most worth getting right.
A separate application is always needed
The School Admissions Code says published admission arrangements "must make clear to parents that a separate application must be made for any transfer from nursery to primary school". The DfE's statutory guidance for councils is blunter: parents should be told "that a place in a school nursery does not guarantee admission to the school and parents must apply for a place at the school if they want their child to transfer to the reception class."
You apply through your home council like every other family, by 15 January in the year your child starts school, with offers on 16 April or the next working day. For children born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023, who start Reception in September 2027, the deadline is 15 January 2027. Our primary school admissions timeline covers the process step by step.
When attending the nursery can count
The Code gives nursery children no automatic priority, but a school's admission authority can build some in, within limits:
- Children eligible for the early years pupil premium, pupil premium or service premium. Paragraph 1.42 lets a school give priority to children eligible for one of these premiums who are in its nursery class, or in a nursery the school has established and runs and names in its arrangements.
- Children from the school's nursery more generally. The Code does not ban this, and paragraph 1.9 allows it even where some parents pay the school for optional extra nursery hours. Any such priority must be in the school's published oversubscription criteria.
Many councils say plainly that their community schools give nursery children no priority. Knowsley Council's 2025/26 arrangements say a nursery place does not "give any priority for a place in the reception class", and Leeds City Council says "there is no priority for nursery attendance". Academies, faith schools and other schools that set their own admissions can differ, so read the admission arrangements of the school you want. The Code requires them to be published on the school's website, or the council's for community schools.
What decides a Reception place instead
Most schools rank applicants by criteria such as looked-after children, siblings, distance from home and, for some faith schools, religious practice; our guide to catchment areas explains how distance works. Two details matter for nursery families:
- Siblings in the nursery may not count. Some councils' sibling rules only count brothers and sisters in the main school. Leeds, for example, says sibling priority does not apply to a sibling attending a school's nursery.
- Your child may have to move. If you are not offered a Reception place at the nursery's school, your child starts at the school you are offered. As Newham Council puts it, "The law does not allow us to reserve reception places." If the school is popular, include a realistic back-up among your preferences.
Deferred and part-time starts
If you defer your child's Reception start until later in the school year, the statutory guidance says they can keep using funded hours at a nursery, a childminder, or a school nursery class if the school allows it. Our guide to when your child starts school explains deferred and part-time starts.
How and when to apply for each
School nursery classes and nursery schools
There is no national process or deadline for school nursery places, and councils such as Knowsley note that there is no statutory right of appeal if you are refused one. Arrangements vary a lot:
- Deadlines differ even between London boroughs. In Merton, applications to community school nursery classes for children born between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, who can start from September 2027 to April 2028, close on 30 November 2026, with first offers on 12 January 2027. In Harrow, applications for school nursery places from September 2027, for children born between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2024, close on 15 January 2027, with results on 15 March 2027.
- Not every school uses the council's process. Merton says academies, voluntary aided church schools and independent schools take applications directly, and in Knowsley the schools' governing bodies run nursery admissions each term.
- Start dates differ. Many nursery classes take children from the term after their third birthday, but Merton notes that some only admit in the September after it.
Search your council's website for "school nursery admissions" and check each school's own page, especially academies and faith schools. Deadlines can fall well before the Reception deadline.
Private nurseries and pre-schools
You apply directly to each setting, usually by joining its waiting list. There is no deadline, but baby rooms and popular settings can fill months ahead, so ask how the list works and whether any registration fee or deposit is refundable.
How each type is inspected
Inspection works differently depending on who runs the nursery, so make sure you are reading the right report. Ofsted's early years inspection information and school inspection information set out the rules.
| Setting | How it is inspected |
|---|---|
| Nursery class in a state school, for children aged 2 and over | Usually not separately registered with Ofsted, so it is inspected as part of the school. Under the renewed framework, the school's report card grades a separate "early years" evaluation area, and inspectors look at 2 and 3 year olds within it |
| School provision for children under 2 | Must be registered with Ofsted and is inspected as an early years setting |
| Maintained nursery school | Inspected as a school, with no separate early years grade, because the whole school is early years |
| Private, voluntary or council-run nursery, including one on a school site | Registered on the Early Years Register and inspected by Ofsted as an early years setting, with its own report |
| Independent school nursery | Inspected with the school by Ofsted or, for schools in an association, the Independent Schools Inspectorate, unless it is separately registered |
For a school nursery, read the early years section of the school's latest report, not just the headline. For a private nursery, our guide to Ofsted nursery report cards explains the new grades. Whichever you choose, check the date of the latest inspection on Ofsted's reports website, because a report can be several years old.
New school-based nurseries
You may find more school nursery options than a few years ago. On 1 September 2026, the DfE said it had awarded £82 million to over 600 primary and maintained nursery schools to create over 11,000 new nursery places by September 2027, and that schools expected about 450 new or expanded nurseries to have created over 9,000 places by the end of September 2026. Councils are now being invited to propose more for 2027 to 2030. Some of these nurseries take children under 3 and some are run by a separate provider, so check who runs each one and what ages it takes.
Which is likely to suit your family?
A school nursery class may suit you if:
- your child is 3 or 4 and a short day in term time works for your family, or you can arrange the rest
- you want a teacher-led setting and your child's first taste of school routines
- you have an older child at the school and one drop-off would help, accepting that the nursery place does not secure a Reception place
A day nursery or pre-school may suit you if:
- you need care for a baby or toddler, or long days all year
- your working hours do not fit school sessions and holidays
- you would rather keep one setting until Reception than combine several
Some families do both over time: a day nursery until 3, then a school nursery class for the year before Reception, sometimes with a childminder or the day nursery covering the rest of the week. If your child has additional needs, talk to the SENCO at each setting before you decide.
How FindMySchool helps
- Browse primary schools with a nursery, for example in Birmingham or Manchester. These list primary and all-through schools that official records show as having nursery provision, ranked like our other primary lists. The ranking is about the school, not the nursery, so read the early years part of each inspection report.
- Find day nurseries, pre-schools and other group settings with nurseries near me or search nurseries and childcare, or see the best nurseries in places such as London. Nursery profiles show the inspection history we hold, which may not include Ofsted's latest report cards, so check Ofsted's site too.
- Maintained nursery schools have their own school profiles, and the profiles of schools with nursery provision can show nearby nurseries and early years settings. For some schools we have also published a review of the school's nursery.
- When you move on to Reception, look at primary schools near you, or let School Match suggest primary schools based on your priorities and location. You need a free account to see the results, and your top match on your first search is free.
Before you decide, do three things: check the hours and holiday cover you really need and what each option costs in full, read the latest inspection report for the setting itself and check its date, and put your council's nursery deadline and the 15 January Reception deadline in your calendar.
Frequently asked questions
No. You must make a separate application for Reception through your home council, by 15 January in the year your child starts school, even if your child is already in that school's nursery class. Attending the nursery only gives priority if the school's own published admission arrangements say so, and many councils state that it gives none.