Nurseries in Highland

Highland Council typically opens applications in January for children starting the following August. Contact the council or your preferred nursery directly to confirm the exact window for the current cycle.

Highland offers term-time or stretched delivery. You can choose term-time (around 30 hours/week for 38 weeks) or stretched delivery (around 22 hours/week for 52 weeks) depending on what works for your family.

No — your child can use any nursery or childminder on Highland's funded partner provider list. All council nurseries qualify automatically. Check with individual private nurseries and childminders to confirm they are registered as partner providers before committing.

Full-time private nursery places for children under 3 in Highland cost around £235 per week on average (2025/26 data). This is before any funded hours or Tax-Free Childcare discount. Funded hours (from age 3) can reduce this significantly — in practice most families pay only top-up fees above the funded amount.

188 nurseries, playgroups and children-and-family centres in Highland are registered with the Care Inspectorate — 138 run by the council, 26 private and 24 voluntary. 148 of the 184 with published grades scored Good or better on every key question at their latest inspection. The full list, with each service's latest grades and a link to its inspection reports, is on this page.

The Care Inspectorate is Scotland's independent regulator for care services, including all nurseries and childminders. It inspects services and gives grades from 1 (Unsatisfactory) to 6 (Excellent) across key areas including the quality of care and support, the environment, leadership, and staffing. You can search all registered services in Highland at the Care Inspectorate website — look for grades of 4 (Good) or above.

Some two-year-olds qualify for funded hours in Scotland through the 'eligible two-year-old' route. Eligibility is based on family circumstances — children in care, those with a child protection plan, or those whose parents receive certain benefits may qualify for up to 600 hours from age 2. Contact Highland Council's early years team to check your child's eligibility.