Pre-school and childcare for under 5s

• Home >
• Living in West Lancs >
• Education, schools and libraries >
• Pre-school and childcare for under 5s

Education and childcare for the under 5s
There is a wide variety of early years education and childcare available for your child. Finding out about the range of services on offer will help you decide what best suits you and your child's needs. DirectGov's Preschool education and development (external link) explains the roles of nursery schools and reception classes, day nurseries, pre-school playgroups, reception classes and childminders.

DirectGov also gives details about:

• Free education for under 5s (external link): When, where and how to get free part-time early education for your three or four year old
• Getting help with pre-school costs (external link): Financial support available to students, lone and working parents
• Choosing early years education for under 5s (external link): What to ask and check when looking for a pre-school place for your child

Finding pre-school options near you
Search DirectGov's Nursery Finder (external link) by postcode or town to:

• find playgroups, pre-schools or toddler groups
• find childcare options, such as childminders, creches, nurseries
• find out of school care, holiday schemes and pre-school care
• find a new school
• find more information about schools, such as contact details, Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) reports, maps and achievement tables

Childcare Link
The Childcarelink website (external link) website offers comprehensive information and advice about local childcare. and advice on:

• choosing childcare
• paying for childcare
• free early education for your 3-4 year old
• childcare and the law

You can call Childcarelink on 08000 96 02 96 for details of your local Children's Information Service and factsheets on childcare options.