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• Education and learning
• Early years
• Childcare (Family Information Service)

• Types of childcare

Types of Childcare

There are two distinct types of childcare available Registered and Unregistered.

Registered Childcare

Under the 1989 Children Act, all facilities that provide care for children under 8 years of age for more than 2 hours a day must be registered with Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education). Provision only providing care for less than six days in any year, or care for over 8s only need not be registered. 

Click on a childcare option from the list below to find out more about the different types of registered childcare available.   

• Childminders
• Day Care and Children's Centres
• Out of School Clubs (Also known as Before and After School)
• Playgroups or Pre-Schools
• Nursery Classes 
• Holiday Playschemes
• Creches 

Unregistered Childcare

Ofsted do not carry out inspections on unregistered provision such as those listed below. This may be because the parent/carer remains with the child and is therefore able to judge themselves the suitability of the service on offer or it may be as with most breakfast clubs, that they operate for less than 2 hours a day and are therefore exempt from registering with Ofsted. Some Holiday Care Schemes are unregistered when they are catering for children only over the age of 8 years, as only childcare provision caring for 0 - 8s is required to be Ofsted registered. If a parent/carer is considering using unregistered childcare then we would strongly recommend that proof of qualifications and references are called for. For further information about types of unregistered childcare please click on one of the options listed below.

Click on a childcare option from the list below to find out more about the different types of unregistered childcare available.   

• Breakfast Clubs
• Babysitters
• Toddler Groups (also known as Stay and Plays)
• Nannies
• Approved Childcarers

Contact Details

You can request information from us using our online enquiry form. If you prefer to leave a telephone message please remember to leave your name, postal address and age of your child(ren). Alternatively just leave your telephone number and an information officer will contact you as soon as possible. Details of some local childcare providers can be found at www.childcarelink.gov.uk.