Nursery Website Requirements: Ofsted, EYFS and What You Need Online

Ofsted, EYFS and the law

First, the thing nobody says plainly

There is no law that says a nursery must have a website, and there is no such thing as an "Ofsted compliant website". Ofsted inspects your provision against the Early Years Foundation Stage, not your web pages. If a web designer tells you their template is "Ofsted approved", they are guessing.

What does exist is a set of requirements to share, make available or publish certain information for parents. Some are legal duties that apply to every business with a website. Some come from the EYFS statutory framework. Some come from the funding rules your local authority applies. And some are simply good practice that inspectors and parents notice. This guide separates the four, with the source for each, so you can decide what belongs on your nursery website.

It applies to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own frameworks and regulators.

Legally required for any business website

These apply to every UK organisation with a website, nurseries included.

Company details

If your setting is a limited company, the Company, LLP and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 require you to display on your website the part of the UK you are registered in, your registered number and your registered office address (regulation 25). Sole traders, partnerships and charities have their own, lighter, rules, but the E-Commerce Regulations 2002 still require every service provider to make its name, geographic address and email address easily and permanently accessible, plus a VAT number if registered (regulation 6). A footer line and a contact page cover this.

Privacy information

The moment your website collects a name and email through an enquiry form, data protection law applies. The ICO’s guidance on the right to be informed says you must give people privacy information at the time you collect their data, concisely and in plain language. Most settings do this with a privacy notice linked from every form and the footer. Most organisations that process personal data also need to pay the ICO data protection fee unless exempt.

Reasonable adjustments

Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, and GOV.UK is explicit that this applies to all UK service providers. The strict Public Sector Bodies accessibility regulations do not apply to private, voluntary and independent nurseries, but the Equality Act does, and WCAG 2.2 is the standard everyone measures against. Our nursery website accessibility guide covers what that means in practice.

Required by the EYFS statutory framework

The EYFS framework for group and school-based providers, in force from 1 September 2026, does not mention websites at all. It talks about sharing information with parents and making it available. A website is simply the most practical way of doing that, provided it is kept current.

Information you must share with parents (paragraph 3.100)

Providers must share with parents and carers:

• How the EYFS is being delivered and where to find more information about it
• The range and type of activities and experiences, daily routines, and how parents can share learning at home
• How the setting supports children with special educational needs and disabilities
• The food and drinks provided
• Details of the setting’s policies and procedures, with copies available on request, including the procedures for uncollected children and missing children
• How staffing is organised
• The name of the child’s key person and their role
• A telephone number for parents to contact in an emergency

Complaints (paragraph 3.101) and how to contact Ofsted (paragraph 3.102)

Providers must have a written complaints procedure, investigate written complaints and tell the complainant the outcome within 28 days. They must also make available to parents the details of how to contact Ofsted if a parent believes the provider is not meeting the EYFS requirements. Ofsted’s contact details for complaints about childcare are on GOV.UK.

Inspection reports and registration (paragraphs 3.103 and 3.104)

Providers must tell parents when an inspection is due and, after the inspection, supply a copy of the report to parents of children attending regularly. The registration certificate must be displayed at the setting and shown to parents on request. Linking your latest Ofsted report card from your website is the simplest way to meet the spirit of this.

Safeguarding policy (paragraphs 3.5 to 3.7)

Your safeguarding policy must be in writing and must cover, among other things, the action to take on concerns about a child, allegations against staff, how mobile phones, cameras and other devices are used in the setting, how you check the suitability of recruits, and safeguarding training. Whistleblowing procedures are also required. None of this has to be on your website, but a plain-English safeguarding statement with the name of your designated lead is what parents look for.

Paediatric first aid (paragraph 3.40)

Providers should display, or make available to parents, staff paediatric first aid certificates or a list of who holds one. A line on your team page does this neatly.

Required by the funding framework

If you offer the free entitlement hours, the Department for Education’s statutory guidance for local authorities (valid from 1 April 2026) sets out what providers must and must not charge, and what they should publish.

• Providers should publish their admissions criteria and any fees for consumables, additional hours and services, so that they are easily available to parents (A1.39)
• The costs of chargeable extras should be published on provider websites, or on the local authority’s Family Information Service where a provider has no website, and should be clear, up to date and easily accessible, using the DfE’s chargeable extras template (A1.40)
• Chargeable extras must be voluntary, parents must be able to opt out, and they must not be a condition of a funded place (A1.32 to A1.36)
• Providers must not charge top-up fees, non-refundable registration fees, deposits or retainers as a condition of a funded place, or general non-itemised charges (A1.38)

This is the one area where the guidance does use the word website. Our guide to nursery fees and funded childcare on your website explains how to present it.

Recommended good practice

Not required by anyone, but expected by parents and noticed by inspectors:

• A clear description of your rooms, age groups and a typical day
• Your curriculum approach, in words a parent understands
• A menu and your approach to allergies (you must collect allergy information before a child starts under EYFS paragraph 3.65, and the Food Information Regulations 2014 govern allergen information wherever food is served)
• A team page with roles and qualifications
• Term dates, opening hours and closures
• A galleries and news section, with consent handled properly
• A prominent book a visit or enquire route on every page

Putting it together

Here is the practical mapping most settings use:

If that looks like a lot, it is really ten pages, and most of them change rarely. The ones that do change, fees, menus, team and news, are the ones you want to be able to update from your phone. That is the thinking behind nursery website design from Little Fruitcakes: a nursery website structured around this list, with a team on the phone to make the changes when you would rather not.

Common questions

Sources

• Early years foundation stage statutory framework for group and school-based providers, DfE, in force from 1 September 2026
• Early education and childcare: statutory guidance for local authorities, DfE, valid from 1 April 2026
• Complaints about childcare providers, Ofsted
• Company, LLP and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015, regulation 25
• Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, regulation 6
• The right to be informed, ICO
• Accessibility requirements for public sector websites and apps, GOV.UK