Maintained nursery school
A stand-alone nursery school run by the council, with its own headteacher and qualified teachers
By The Toddly editorial team · Last updated 11 November 2026
Maintained nursery schools are state-funded schools in their own right, just for children under 5, run by the local authority. They have a headteacher, qualified teachers and often specialist support for children with special educational needs, and are inspected by Ofsted under the schools framework. There are relatively few, mostly in towns and cities. They mainly offer funded places, often in term time, and some also sell extra hours. They differ from nursery classes attached to primary schools, which are part of the school.