Dubai nursery fees: budgeting for early years childcare

Decide what care you need

Write down the care you expect to need over a normal week. Use the time you would have to leave home, your last meeting or shift, the travel between work and nursery and any days when another adult can help. Ask the nursery when it opens, when your booked session ends and what happens if you arrive late. If your work hours might change after training or probation, run the timetable with the later hours as well.

Now do the same for a difficult week. A partner may be away, a work site may change or a sibling may need collecting at the same time. Ask whether the nursery can add a day or extend a session, and how far ahead you would need to arrange it. If flexibility is only available when staffing and space allow, have another plan for the days when it is unavailable.

If you are comparing a nursery with a school-based early years class, ask what hours are covered and check which policy and agreement apply. The same early years label does not establish the billing model or the kind of care offered. Use our Dubai school admissions guide for the application process when you are considering a school place.

What the cost of nursery in Dubai includes

Get the provider to itemise the hours, days and calendar before comparing the total. A five-day session until noon has a different use from a five-day session through the end of a workday. A monthly price might cover only ten months or include some school breaks. The billing period can change the amount you pay without changing your child’s daily hours.

We checked the published 2026/27 examples on 8 November 2026. These are different programmes with different hours and billing periods. They show how to read a quote. Ask for your own start date and complete service schedule before drawing a price comparison.

Canadian Kids Nursery 2026/27 fees, Westfield Nursery 2026/27 schedule, Bloom World Academy 2026/27 fees.

Compare payment schedules and extras

On the Westfield example, the three term amounts add up to AED 38,390, while ten months at the published monthly rate come to AED 48,900. The monthly fee includes specified half-term, winter and spring camps, according to the provider. Check which camps you would use, whether a place is included and what separate bookings would cost before comparing those totals. Verify the planned first and last month with the provider. This calculation uses the full published September to June period. Westfield fee and payment terms.

Add extras to the base fee only after you have the provider’s written list. Ask about meals, uniforms, materials, transport, longer sessions, holiday provision and any medical or other compulsory charge. For each one, record whether it is included, required or optional and whether the quoted amount includes tax where applicable. Check who charges it and whether you can cancel later. If you are comparing more than one child, use the correct attendance quote for each and ask how any sibling discount changes the calculation.

Dubai nursery registration fees and deposits

Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority, or KHDA, publishes a fees and refund policy for licensed early childhood centres. It describes separate categories for an application fee, a registration deposit, programme fees and mandatory or optional services. Ask the centre to identify the policy category for any charge described only as registration. Ask what it does to the next bill and how it applies to your programme. KHDA Fees and Refund Policy for Private Early Childhood Centres.

The KHDA policy allows an application fee of up to AED 500 for new applicants to structured academic year provision such as FS1 or FS2. It includes standard assessments where applicable and is separate from programme fees. The policy says no separate application fee may be charged for other attendance models unless KHDA has approved it. Check the applicable category and refund conditions for your child before paying.

The policy also says a registration deposit comes after you accept a formal offer, is capped at 10% of annual programme fees and is offset against programme fees when the child starts. Ask for the offer, the deposit amount and the credit in writing. Where a provider advertises a differently worded charge, get an explanation before treating it as the same thing as the deposit in KHDA’s policy. KHDA parent FAQ on nursery fees and refunds.

Compare registration charges and credits

Westfield’s published schedule lists a compulsory AED 1,500 charge under registration. If you’re considering this option, ask the nursery to confirm what the charge covers, whether any of it is credited against programme fees and which cancellation terms apply. Get the answer in writing before adding it to your budget.

For a worked example, imagine an annual programme fee of AED 32,000 and a credited deposit of AED 2,000. If the nursery applies the deposit to a first bill of AED 12,000, you would pay AED 2,000 to confirm the place and AED 10,000 towards that bill later, before any separately charged items. The dates and the application of the credit both affect the cash you need. Ask for an updated invoice if the expected credit is missing.

Check the Dubai nursery refund policy

Ask the nursery which notice rules apply before and after your child starts. KHDA’s parent FAQ distinguishes structured provision from flexible arrangements. For structured provision such as FS1 or FS2, it describes a refund of the registration deposit when parents formally give at least 60 calendar days’ notice before the start date. For flexible arrangements, consult the terms in your Parent-Early Childhood Centre Contract. If you withdraw after your child starts, ask how the nursery treats unused programme or optional service fees. Check which date counts as notice. KHDA parent FAQ.

Write down the notice method and save the nursery’s acknowledgement. If your employer delays your start date and you want to move your child’s place to another month, ask whether the centre can transfer it and what this does to any deposit or credit. Use a calendar date in the request and check whether a new offer or contract is required. If the paperwork conflicts with the policy, ask for the written basis and raise an unresolved point with KHDA through its official channels.

Separate absence, delay, withdrawal and cancellation of an add-on. A child missing a session because you are away is a different situation from withdrawing entirely. If an optional holiday or meal service can be cancelled separately, ask who takes the notice and which term applies. Keep the contract and any add-on agreement together so you can find the relevant conditions.

Build a budget around your work week

Try a childcare budget with two options. In an illustrative example, Option A has an annual base fee of AED 30,000 but leaves two afternoons a week uncovered. Option B is AED 39,000 and covers both afternoons. If you have to pay AED 130 an afternoon for 36 weeks, the extra cover for Option A would be AED 9,360. That makes its subtotal AED 39,360 before any other differences. Replace the invented figures with written quotes and confirm a real person or provider can cover those hours.

Now compare holiday weeks, payment dates and the journey. If one setting means extra driving every day, include those costs and check whether the collection time still works on days when traffic is slow. A plan that works while you are staying with family may need revisiting once you have a permanent address. Use our guides to moving to Dubai with family and choosing where to live in Dubai to test the rest of the timetable.

Check what the employer allowance covers

If your employer mentions a childcare or education allowance, ask whether it covers a nursery and which items are eligible. Get the reimbursement date and document requirements before deducting it from your own budget. If the allowance covers a school later, keep that estimate in a separate year. The Dubai school fees guide explains how to compare school schedules and extras when your child moves on.

Your best comparison is the total for the weeks you need plus a calendar of actual payments. Include a line for summer or temporary care if you start work before the nursery can accept your child. Keep a list of costs with no confirmed price and give each one a deadline. Once you have a workable offer, check that the timetable, fees, deposit credits and refund conditions appear in the written contract.

Test the first month as well as the normal month

A nursery may offer an introductory settling period, and your child may be ready for longer days at a different pace from your work start. Ask what the first week looks like, whether a parent needs to stay nearby and how those sessions are charged. If you are starting a new job that week, give yourself a second pickup plan and confirm who is authorised to collect your child.

An arrival in the middle of a term can change both the hours available and the amount due. Ask for a written quote starting on the earliest day you would use and a second one for your more likely start. Check whether either quote assumes you are paying for a full term or taking an annual discount. If the places are limited to different days, build two real timetables before deciding. The later start might save a fee and still leave you paying for temporary care while you wait. Include any gap in the budget beside the amount due on registration.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Canadian Kids Nursery 2026/27 fees
• Westfield Nursery 2026/27 schedule
• Bloom World Academy 2026/27 fees
• Westfield fee and payment terms
• KHDA Fees and Refund Policy for Private Early Childhood Centres
• KHDA parent FAQ on nursery fees and refunds