How we chose
We started from the sixty nurseries listed across Telford. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and the registration it must hold by law is in place. Twelve settings met all three and ten made the table. What parents say counts most toward the score, then the Ofsted inspection record, then whether the setting has traded two years or more and whether its cover is stated, then fee clarity and website detail. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Start by matching the setting to the week you live. A day nursery takes babies through to school age, usually full days all year, which suits shift workers and commuters. A pre-school or school-based nursery covers ages two to five in term-time sessions, which suits parents who need school hours only. A childminder looks after a small group in their own home and often offers the most flexible hours. In this round the big groups suit long days, the Wellington independents suit outdoor play, and the school rooms suit a gentle start to school life.
Check the Ofsted record before you visit. Search the setting by name or URN on the Ofsted reports site and confirm it shows as open, then read the latest report in full rather than stopping at the grade [1]. Reports carry a date, and older grades can hide recent change. Also open any additional publications on the register page: where Ofsted has acted after a concern, the notice sits there with what the setting was asked to do [1].
Work out your funding before you compare fees. Eligible two-year-olds get fifteen hours, all three and four-year-olds get fifteen hours, and working parents can get more for children from nine months to four years [2]. Tax-Free Childcare adds a government top-up of two pounds for every eight you pay in, up to two thousand a year per child, but only where your provider is signed up to the scheme [3]. You manage both through a childcare account and must confirm your details stay current every three months [2] [3].
Visit with your child and watch an ordinary hour, not a show round. Ask who your child's key person would be, what qualifications the room staff hold, who holds paediatric first aid on each shift, and how the room handles settling-in, sleep, illness, allergies and behaviour. Ask what meals are cooked where, how allergies are tracked, and how much of the day happens outdoors. A setting that resists visits or cannot answer these plainly is telling you something.
Get the money in writing on one page before you sign. The quote should show the all-in weekly or monthly figure, the funded-hours deduction worked out for your child, what meals, nappies, trips and late pickups add, the deposit and when it is refundable, the notice period, and what you pay for sickness, holidays and bank holidays. In this round no setting publishes rates, so your written quote is the price list. Where two quotes differ, the difference is usually in the extras, so compare those lines first.
At the end, keep three documents together: the signed contract with fees and notice terms, each invoice showing the funded-hours deduction, and the latest Ofsted report you read [1]. If the invoice deduction does not match the quote, query it before you pay. If anything in the contract surprises you, from fee-increase clauses to charges for days you do not use, ask for it to be explained in writing while you can still walk away.
Pricing
As of summer 2026, the latest national survey puts a part-time nursery place for an under-two in England at £71 a week, with costs for three to four-year-olds up almost 5% on the year before [4]. Treat that as background, not a Telford price: none of the ten settings in this round publishes rates, so the written quote you hold is the only figure that counts.
Three things move the bill. Age comes first: places for the youngest children cost the most, since the youngest rooms run the tightest staffing. Days and hours come next: full days across the full year cost more than term-time sessions. What is bundled comes third: some Telford groups fold meals, nappies, wipes and formula into the fee, while others charge extras on top, so two similar headline figures can hide very different weeks.
Funding then cuts the bill you actually pay. Funded hours for eligible twos, threes and fours come off the invoice, and Tax-Free Childcare tops up what you pay yourself by £2 for every £8, up to £2,000 a year per child [2] [3]. Confirm your provider is signed up to Tax-Free Childcare before you count on it, and confirm your details every three months to keep both kinds of help running [3].
Get one all-in monthly figure in writing, with the funded-hours deduction, meals, nappies and extras shown as separate lines. Quotes in this round say nothing about how extras are charged, so ask for each one named with its price. Agree the deposit, the notice period and what you pay when your child is ill or on holiday, and keep every quote, invoice and contract together.
Red flags
Cannot be found on the Ofsted register, or will not give you its URN so you can check it yourself [1].
Refuses a visit, or will only show you the office rather than the rooms your child would use.
Will not put fees, the funded-hours deduction and the notice terms in writing before you sign.
Asks for a large non-refundable deposit before you have seen a contract.
Cannot say who holds paediatric first aid on each shift, or how its staff are checked.
Dodges questions about how funded hours are applied to the bill [2].
Has no settling-in plan and expects your child to start full days straight away.
Dismisses its published Ofsted actions or inspection findings instead of explaining what changed [1].
The bottom line
For most Telford parents, start with ABC Day Nursery: the only repeat Outstanding in this round, curiosity-led rooms, and four sites to choose between. Fees are unpublished, so ask for the all-in weekly figure and the funded-hours deduction in writing first.
Match the setting to the week you live: Little Seeds for a small new room with glowing early reviews, The Nest for a teacher-led start inside a Wellington primary, Kids Planet Apley for long hospital-grounds days with funded places.
Then shortlist two, visit both with your child, read each latest Ofsted report in full, and confirm fees, notice and extras in writing before you sign.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.