Nurseries in Brent

Not borough wide. Brent Council's latest assessment found vacancies across every part of the borough and concluded that overall provision was sufficient.

The problem is choice within individual neighbourhoods. Vacancies are not available in every type of childcare in every ward, and Brent's parent survey found 60% of parents said the childcare available met their needs, meaning a substantial minority were struggling with factors such as location, hours or cost.

Brent's latest vacancy data recorded the highest numbers of vacancies in Stonebridge, Alperton and Tokyngton.

The lowest vacancy levels were reported in Welsh Harp, followed by Queens Park, Dollis Hill, Brondesbury Park and Roundwood.

The figures are a fixed point snapshot and not every provider submitted vacancy information, but they give parents a better indication of where choice is tighter.

Yes, compared with most Brent wards.

The latest assessment recorded only 191 registered places for children aged 0 to 5 in Wembley Park, compared with 765 in Stonebridge, 642 in Roundwood and 542 in Harlesden and Kensal Green.

Wembley Park also had only 2 providers delivering funded entitlements, the lowest number of any Brent ward, and its early years provision consisted of private and voluntary providers rather than school or childminder provision in the council's dataset.

Parents in Wembley Park who cannot find suitable hours locally should therefore widen the search into neighbouring Brent wards.

Brent's latest published local averages for privately paid childcare were:

Children aged 0 and 1: £12 per hour at private or voluntary nurseries and £10.65 with childminders.

2 year olds: £10.45 per hour at private or voluntary nurseries, £9.77 at charging school or maintained nursery provision and £10.55 with childminders.

3 and 4 year olds: £10.15 per hour at private or voluntary nurseries, £7.77 at charging school or maintained nursery provision and £8.55 with childminders.

These figures exclude funded hours and can also exclude separate meal charges.

Yes. Eligible working families can receive up to 30 funded hours a week from the term after their child reaches 9 months until primary school age.

Get your childcare code by:

31 March for an April start

31 August for a September start

31 December for a January start

Eligibility must then be reconfirmed every 3 months.

Brent approved funded early years agreements with 255 nurseries and childminders for 2026 to 2028, but individual providers decide how many funded places they can offer.

Yes. Brent allows parents to use their entitlement across up to 2 providers on the same day.

For example, a child can attend a school nursery for one part of the day and a childminder for the remaining childcare. Brent also states that individual providers do not have to offer the entire 30 hours, so combining settings can solve gaps in the working day.

Private and voluntary nurseries in Brent generally operate around 8am to 6pm and throughout the year, while school nursery classes follow the school day and school calendar more closely.

Brent specifically warns that popular nurseries can have long waiting lists and recommends registering interest early.

Parents commuting from Wembley, Kilburn or Willesden should compare the exact closing time and number of weeks open, not just the funded hours offered.

No. Brent Council explicitly states that attending a nursery class attached to a primary school has no link to obtaining a Reception place at that school.

Parents must make a separate Reception application through the normal school admissions process.

Brent's Children and Families Information Service offers a specific vacancy finding service.

Council staff can contact nurseries, childminders and out of school providers on a parent's behalf and search according to location, budget and required childcare arrangement. This is more useful than repeatedly contacting settings individually when the problem is unusual hours or a very specific location.

Brent has 4 council run nurseries with enhanced SEND places.

Current provision includes:

Curzon Crescent: 5 full time enhanced places

Fawood: 15 full time enhanced places

Granville Plus Nursery School: 13 full time enhanced places

Willow Children's Centre Nursery: 27 full time enhanced places

Access is decided through Brent's Under 5's Supported Nursery Panel. A professional must make the referral and complete an Early Help Assessment. Parents cannot directly self refer for an enhanced nursery place.

Brent's Early Years Inclusion Support Team works with mainstream nurseries, school settings and childminders to identify needs early and remove barriers to participation.

The team includes advisory teachers, early years specialist practitioners and health professionals. Brent can also provide Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funding to eligible private nurseries and childminders following consideration by the Under 5's Supported Nursery Panel.

Yes. Brent Portage provides home based educational support for children up to age 4 with SEND.

A Portage worker normally visits weekly or fortnightly and works on communication, play, physical development, relationships and participation in family life.

Brent currently has 8 Best Start Family Hubs, all normally open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm:

Alperton in Wembley

Church Lane in Kingsbury

Granville Plus in Kilburn

Curzon Crescent and Fawood in Harlesden

Preston Park in Wembley

Three Trees in Kensal Rise

St Raphael's in NW10

Willow SEND in Wembley

Services for under 5s include Stay and Play, speech and language sessions, Terrific Twos groups, health services and SEND support.