London nursery website study 2026
Short answer: we checked a random sample of 530 London nursery websites in November 2026. 41% showed no fees, 27% said nothing about funded hours, and 69% didn’t link to their report on Ofsted’s website. Only 11 had everything we checked for.
Published 4 November 2026 by Welcome Page. Free to quote with a link to this page.
What we found
Of the 530 websites we could read:
| Share | of nursery websites |
|---|---|
| 41% | showed no prices anywhere we could find, the question parents most want answered |
| 27% | said nothing we could find about funded hours |
| 70% | didn’t list chargeable extras such as meals or consumables, which DfE guidance says settings offering funded hours should publish |
| 69% | didn’t link to their inspection report on Ofsted’s website |
| 26% | still describe an Ofsted grade the old way (“Outstanding” or “Good”), which must come down after their next inspection |
| 67% | didn’t mention a complaints process |
| 42% | didn’t mention safeguarding |
| 48% | had no tap-to-call phone number for parents on a mobile |
| 28% | didn’t link to any policies |
| 4% | loaded without https, so browsers warn parents the site is “Not secure” |
The typical website had 8 of 13 things we checked for. Only 11 had all of them.
Websites we couldn’t read
Of the 600 websites we sampled, 4 pointed to domains that no longer exist, 43 didn’t load or blocked automated checks, and 23 were parked, unfinished or had almost no readable text. The figures above are for the 530 we could read.
Why it matters now
- Funded hours from 9 months. Since September 2025, eligible working parents can get 30 hours from the term after their child turns 9 months, so more parents search for how a setting handles funding. See early years funding 2026 to 2027.
- Chargeable extras. DfE’s guidance says settings offering funded hours should publish the cost of extras on their website. See publishing chargeable extras.
- Report cards. Ofsted no longer gives an overall grade, so “Outstanding” and “Good” wording has to come down after the next inspection. See Ofsted grades explained.
- Inspectors read your website. Ofsted’s operating guide tells inspectors to review a setting’s website before they visit. See preparing for inspection.
Method and limits
- Sample: we took every nursery on Ofsted’s register in London (3,635 settings, full day care and sessional), matched them to their Google Maps listing, and kept the 1,708 distinct websites. We checked a random 600 of them on 4 November 2026. Childminders, schools and nurseries without a website on Google are not included.
- One result per website: groups running several settings from one website count once.
- How: the same code as our free website checker. It reads the homepage and up to eight linked pages, such as fees, policies and contact pages, and looks for words and links.
- Limits: it reads text, so it can miss things inside images or PDFs, or on pages not linked from the homepage. A “not found” means we couldn’t find it, not that it isn’t anywhere. Treat the figures as the share of sites where a parent might struggle too.
- Privacy: we haven’t named any setting and won’t publish site-level results.
Questions
How many nursery websites show their fees?
In our November 2026 check of 530 London nursery websites, 59% showed prices somewhere we could find. 41% didn’t.
How was the study done?
We ran the same automated check as our free website checker over each website listed for the settings in our sample. It reads the homepage and up to eight linked pages and looks for words and links. It can miss things in images, PDFs or pages not linked from the homepage, so the figures are a floor for what’s missing, not a precise count.
Which settings were checked?
A random sample of websites belonging to Ofsted-registered nurseries in London (full day care and sessional care), taken from their Google Maps listings. Groups that run many settings from one website count once. Childminders and schools weren’t included. London may not be typical of the rest of England.
Can I use these figures?
Yes, please do, with a link to this page as the source.
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