Choosing Child Care

People seeking childcare have access through the service to a wide range of registered childcare facilities in County Durham including:

Childminders

They provide care in their own homes for children of any age. Childminders are registered and inspected by Ofsted.

Sessional Day Care, e.g. Playgroups, Crèches

Playgroups run for between two and four hours per day for children between the ages of 2 1/2 and 5 years, some are registered to provide nursery education. A crèche provides care facilities to allow adults to work, train or pursue leisure activities. They may take children of any age.

Nurseries

They provide full or sessional day care/education for children between the ages of 0 and 5 years. They are run by either the Social Services Department or the private, voluntary or independent sectors. All are registered with the Local Education Authority to provide nursery education.

Out of School Childcare

Including out of school hours schemes, supervised schemes - for school-aged children before and/or after school and during school holidays.

Nursery Education

LEA (Local Education Authority) provide half day educational provision for children between the ages of 3 and 5. They operate during term time only.

Infant, Junior and Primary Schools

Providing full day educational provision for children between the ages of 4 and 11. They operate during term time only.

Secondary School

Providing full day educational provision for children between the ages of 11 and 16. They operate during term time only.