Childcare costs in Bedford, Central Bedfordshire
We hold no published fee we can stand behind for any nursery here yet.
Work out the cost for your child's age and days
Funded hours, by age
| Age | Funded hours | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Under 9 months | None | Every family pays the full fee. |
| 9 months to 2 years | Up to 30 hours a week, 38 weeks a year | Working parents (gov.uk) |
| 2 years | Up to 30 hours a week if you work; 15 hours if you get certain support | Working parents, or families on some benefits (gov.uk) |
| 3 and 4 years, until Reception | 15 hours a week for every child; up to 30 for working parents | Everyone (gov.uk) |
Hours start the term after your child reaches the age: terms start on 1 September, 1 January and 1 April. 30 hours a week for 38 weeks is 1,140 hours a year, and many nurseries spread them over more weeks. Working parents apply on gov.uk for a code and reconfirm it every three months. Key dates works out when your child's hours start.
National rules for England from September 2025: gov.uk. Nurseries may charge for meals, nappies and activities on funded hours; those charges are not in the figures here.
Nurseries whose fee we do not hold (16)
- Barton-le-Clay Pre-School (Pre-school; Ofsted: Good, 17 November 2022): fee unknown
- Cherry Trees Day Nursery (Day nursery; Ofsted: Outstanding, 23 April 2024): fee unknown
- Flitwick Day Nursery (Day nursery; Ofsted: Good, 9 September 2025): fee unknown
- Fordfield House Nursery & After School Club (Day nursery; Ofsted: Good, 20 June 2023): fee unknown
- Fordfield Nursery Ltd Ruxox House (Day nursery; Ofsted: Outstanding, 28 June 2024): fee unknown
- Gravenhurst and Villages Pre-School (Day nursery; Ofsted: Outstanding, 3 March 2022): fee unknown
- Growing Stars Pre-School Ltd (Pre-school; Ofsted: Good, 18 November 2024): fee unknown
- Harper's Nursery School Ltd (Day nursery; Ofsted: Outstanding, 11 November 2021): fee unknown
- Ladybird Forest Pre-School Ampthill (Pre-school; Ofsted: Good, 7 February 2025): fee unknown
- Little Squirts Pre School (Day nursery; Ofsted: Good, 6 January 2023): fee unknown
- Merry Poppets Nursery Ltd (MK45 1BP) (Day nursery; Ofsted: Good, 7 March 2023): fee unknown
- Merry Poppets Nursery Ltd (MK45 5AA) (Day nursery; Ofsted: Good, 27 October 2021): fee unknown
- Orchard School & Nursery (Day nursery; Ofsted: Not inspected yet): fee unknown
- Puddleducks Nursery (Day nursery; Ofsted: Good, 29 November 2021): fee unknown
- Silsoe Pre-School (Pre-school; Ofsted: Outstanding, 26 September 2024): fee unknown
- The Fledglings (Pre-school; Ofsted: Report card: strong standard or better in every area, 19 March 2026): fee unknown
For comparison, a paid hour at a typical nursery in the South East region costs £8.06 for a child under 2 and £7.58 for a 2-year-old. That is a survey average, not any nursery's own price.
Source: Coram Family and Childcare, Childcare Survey 2026: average nursery price for 50 hours a week after the working-parent entitlement (paying for 20 hours), by region.
More in nurseries in Bedford, ranked by what Ofsted found, and private school fees.
Nurseries: Ofsted, Childcare providers and inspections. Fees: each nursery's own website, read by kinplace's fee reader; a fee is left out when the page is shared with other nurseries (unless it is a chain's own price list, checked again for each branch), on another website, for an earlier year, or read more than 120 days ago.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources are named beside each figure. All sources.