50 nurseries in Chelmsford

Every day nursery in Chelmsford on the Ofsted register, best rated first, with what a place costs in East of England after the free hours.

50 day nurseries

11 rated Outstanding

2 with a new report card (4%)

3,215 places in total

£141 a week, 50 hours for a 2 year old after free hours

Best-rated nurseries in Chelmsford

The top of our Chelmsford ranking: Ofsted's outcome first, then the newest inspection.

Best-rated day nurseries in Chelmsford
#	Nursery	Ofsted outcome	Inspected	Places
1	Jesters Nursery School Danbury CM3 4NQ	Strong standard in all 6	27 November 2025	20
2	Hurst Court Day Nursery School CM2 6BP	Outstanding	5 September 2025	60
3	Broomfield Road Day Nursery School CM1 1RN	Outstanding	15 August 2025	60
4	Lawn Lane Day Nursery School CM1 7PP	Outstanding	24 July 2025	44
5	Scallywags Nursery Chelmsford Limited CM1 6HL	Outstanding	25 March 2025	48

Day nurseries in Chelmsford, best rated first

All 50 day nurseries in Chelmsford
#	Nursery	Ofsted outcome	Inspected	Places
1	Jesters Nursery School Danbury CM3 4NQ	Strong standard in all 6	27 November 2025	20
2	Hurst Court Day Nursery School CM2 6BP	Outstanding	5 September 2025	60
3	Broomfield Road Day Nursery School CM1 1RN	Outstanding	15 August 2025	60
4	Lawn Lane Day Nursery School CM1 7PP	Outstanding	24 July 2025	44
5	Scallywags Nursery Chelmsford Limited CM1 6HL	Outstanding	25 March 2025	48
6	Busy Bees At Springfield Chelmsford CM2 6BN	Outstanding	27 November 2024	102
7	Little Darwins Nursery CM3 8DW	Outstanding	27 July 2023	85
8	Little Spring Wonders Daycare Nursery CM2 7HQ	Outstanding	29 November 2022	72
9	Bright Horizons Chelmsford Day Nursery & Preschool CM1 6AU	Outstanding	18 August 2022	80
10	Busy Bees Day Nursery at Chelmsford CM2 0GT	Outstanding	28 July 2022	99
11	Jesters Nursery Childcare CM3 4EX	Outstanding	20 May 2022	36
12	Broomfield Hospital Day Nursery School CM1 7SS	Outstanding	22 April 2022	51
13	KMK Kinderzimmer Chelmsford CM2 0EB	Strong standard in 5 of 6	10 April 2026	84
14	Step Start Nurseries Chelmsford CM1 1QS	Good	3 September 2025	67
15	Jayne's Nursery Ltd CM1 7AG	Good	29 August 2025	28
16	Aspen Tree Childcare CM1 2PB	Good	23 July 2025	45
17	Danbury Pre-School at St John's CM3 4NS	Good	24 April 2025	26
18	Chelmsford YMCA Day Nursery CM1 1NZ	Good	8 April 2025	32
19	Deerlands Day Nursery CM3 6LS	Good	7 March 2025	50
20	Little Learners CM1 2SB	Good	6 February 2025	19
21	Second Steps Day Nursery (Hanningfield) Ltd CM3 8BH	Good	18 November 2024	66
22	Second Steps Day Nursery (Althorne) Ltd CM3 6YH	Good	8 November 2024	78
23	Shining Stars CM3 2HP	Good	26 September 2024	22
24	Little Chums Nursery CM2 9SR	Good	9 May 2024	45
25	Sunrise Nursery CM1 7DN	Good	1 May 2024	28
26	Small Wonders Day Nursery CM1 6JN	Good	7 February 2024	46
27	Kids Inc Day Nursery CM1 4DU	Good	2 October 2023	52
28	Buttercup Montessori Kindergarten Ltd CM2 5PX	Good	11 May 2023	119
29	The Stables Nursery CM2 8TS	Good	3 May 2023	120
30	Buttercup Montessori Kindergarten Ltd CM2 8NG	Good	11 April 2023	66
31	Kiddi Caru Nursery CM1 1GP	Good	9 March 2023	100
32	Small Wonders Day Nursery CM3 5NH	Good	15 February 2023	55
33	Beaulieu Park Day Nursery CM1 6AH	Good	3 February 2023	147
34	Camelot Day Nursery CM2 0JD	Good	26 January 2023	156
35	St Mary's Playschool CM2 7JU	Good	25 January 2023	78
36	Footprints Day Nursery CM2 0HG	Good	1 December 2022	65
37	The Kids' Academy CM2 9DE	Good	1 November 2022	66
38	Carealot Day Nursery CM1 2BL	Good	29 September 2022	32
39	New Hall Nursery CM3 3HS	Good	25 August 2022	111
40	Roxwell Pre-school CM1 4PA	Good	4 July 2022	24
41	Little Smarties Nursery Ltd CM2 8LD	Good	19 May 2022	100
42	Jesters Childcare Beaulieu CM1 6DT	Good	2 December 2021	56
43	Rainbow Pre-School CM2 6RF	Good	22 November 2021	40
44	The Little Bears Nursery CM3 2HS	Good	12 November 2021	60
45	Little Nipperz CM3 6AD	Good	14 June 2021	26
46	Channels Day Nursery CM3 3FP	Not yet graded	Not yet	84
47	Dovedale Nursery CIC CM2 0JQ	Not yet graded	Not yet	99
48	Little Faces Nursery School CM2 8HR	Not yet graded	Not yet	62
49	Little Hedgehogs Day Nursery & Preschool CM3 3DB	Not yet graded	Not yet	24
50	Munchkins Nursery and Pre-School CM2 7HX	Not yet graded	Not yet	80

How the ranking works: our ranking policy. What the grades mean: Ofsted report cards explained.

Nurseries by postcode in Chelmsford

Chelmsford is in Essex.

Nursery fees in Chelmsford

What day nurseries in East of England charge on average. Fees in Chelmsford itself can sit above or below this.

Average weekly price in term time, East of England, Coram Childcare Survey 2026
Child's age	25 hours a week	50 hours a week
Under 2	£192no funded hours	£155after 30 funded hours
2 years old	£176no funded hours	£141after 30 funded hours
3 to 4 years old	£67after the free 15 hours	£135after 30 funded hours

Regional average, not any one nursery's price. Source: Coram Childcare Survey 2026. Work out your own monthly cost.

30 hours free childcare in Chelmsford

The free hours follow national rules, so they are the same in Chelmsford as anywhere in England. Every day nursery listed here is registered with Ofsted, which is what a nursery needs to offer them.

Check which hours your child can get

Who	Free hours a week
Working parents, child from 9 months	30 hours
Every 3 and 4 year old	15 hours
2 year olds in families getting some benefits	15 hours

Nursery list and inspection outcomes from Ofsted's register of childcare providers, as at 30 June 2026.

Fees shown are regional averages from the Coram Family and Childcare Survey 2026, not any one nursery’s price. Confirm with the nursery before enrolling.

Eligibility rules are the government’s (childcarechoices.gov.uk). Whether a nursery offers the funded hours, and what it charges for meals and consumables, is the nursery’s decision; ask for its funded-hours terms in writing.