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Childsplay Nursery

Ofsted: Good
(Oct 2022)
·
5.0(5 parent reviews) ·1d Seymour Drive, Overpool, Ellesmere Port, CH66 1LZ · Cheshire West and Chester
Number of places
61 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
Oct 2022
Local authority
Cheshire West and Chester

About this day nursery

Childsplay Nursery, located in the heart of Newcastle city centre, has been delivering a stimulating and nurturing environment for children aged 3 months to 5 years since 1982. As a non-profit cooperative and a research-informed institution affiliated with local universities, the nursery prides itself on offering original, creative, and engaging activities rooted in a Reggio-inspired approach.

This philosophy prioritises children's natural development and their interconnectedness with their surroundings. The nursery has consistently achieved an 'Outstanding' rating from Ofsted, reflecting its commitment to high-quality childcare.

Childsplay Nursery features five distinct units, each thoughtfully designed to cater to the age and developmental stage of the children, with resources, furniture, and support tailored to their needs. The dedicated staff, whom they consider akin to family, are continuously trained and passionate about fostering an environment where children can thrive and lead their own learning journeys.

The nursery strongly values the input of both children and parents, ensuring that activities and decisions are collaborative and reflective of each child's individual interests.

Our ethos

Childsplay Nursery is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, prioritising children's natural development and interconnectedness with their surroundings. They are committed to child-led learning journeys, valuing the input of children and parents to tailor activities to individual interests. As a research-informed institution, they focus on providing creative and engaging activities in a stimulating and nurturing environment.

What it's like

Children build strong emotional attachments to their key person and other staff, arriving happy and separating from parents with ease. They display good behaviour, understanding routines and taking ownership of their environment. Children enjoy a broad range of exciting activities that spark their interest and curiosity, demonstrating good motivation to play and learn.

Reggio-inspired approachOfsted OutstandingNon-profit cooperativeForest SchoolAllotment

Pricing & funding

Fees are structured as monthly rates based on the number of days attended per week, ranging from one to five days. The nursery offers stretched funding options for Free Nursery Education, where additional daily charges are applied to cover extras not included in the funding.

Funding accepted

Tax-Free Childcare30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)
  • 5 days per week (full fee rate)£1301 / week
  • 4 days per week (full fee rate)£1169 / week
  • 3 days per week (full fee rate)£876 / week
  • 2 days per week (full fee rate)£662 / week
  • 1 day per week (full fee rate)£345 / week

Good to know

  • Funding is applied on a stretched basis over the year.
  • An extras charge is applied to hours covered by government funding.
  • Fees are calculated and billed on a monthly basis according to the number of days booked per week.

Key facts

Opening hours

Monday to Friday, 7.30am until 6pm

Age range

3 months - 5 years

Term time / All Year

All Year

Session types

Full day

Established

1993

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Childsplay Nursery

Last inspected 4 October 2022 · Kellie Lever

Safeguarding effective
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good

What it's like to attend

Children build strong emotional attachments to their key person and other staff, arriving happy and separating from parents with ease. They display good behaviour, understanding routines and taking ownership of their environment. Children enjoy a broad range of exciting activities that spark their interest and curiosity, demonstrating good motivation to play and learn.

Inspector highlights

  • The management team are dedicated and passionate leaders with a clear vision to put children and their families at the heart of everything they do.
  • Children seamlessly carry out good hygiene procedures.
  • Staff get to know children well, follow their interests, and adapt the ambitious curriculum to suit all abilities.
  • Staff promote children's independence skills well.
  • Children's communication and language skills are promoted effectively, resulting in them being very vocal, chatty and skilful communicators.

Areas to develop

  • 1provide staff with more targeted professional development feedback to raise the quality of education to a higher level
  • 2review the arrangements for sharing information with parents about children's progress so they can better support learning at home.
Inspection #10234479 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

What parents say

Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection

They describe staff as being 'fabulous'.

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

Staff get to know children well, follow their interests as they play and support them in their next stage of learning. They organise an ambitious curriculum and adapt it appropriately to suit children's abilities, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Outdoor space

The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning.

Parent Reviews of Childsplay Nursery

5.0
(5)
Username Taken
7 years ago

I can’t thank this nursery enough for all they have done for my son, my boy was very clingy and after months of taking him to baby/toddler groups I wasn’t getting anywhere, he refused to get off my knee and play with the other children. I came to the decision for him to play and socialise with others, he would have to do it without my presence, from the start this nursery have been brilliant by introducing him slowly, we started with half an hour then they said they will take him for an hour each time FREE for as long as it takes for him to be comfortable, then could start properly. The first session was heartbreaking as he was screaming for me, I waited the half hour in the car incase he was to upset, but Vicki, Claire and the rest of team always kept me well informed with photos and verbally of how he got on and what he got up to, he did calm down after 15 minutes, the next session (an hour) he only cried for 5 minutes, then on the 3rd stopped before I got to my car! I was surprised but relieved at this. He then continued to go to nursery twice a week for 3 hours each day to socialise with others. My boy has come on leaps and bounds since starting here and is a different child altogether. Unfortunately we moved back to Wales, so it wasn’t realistic to travel the distance for the time he was there, yet I changed his time to one half day instead of 3 hours each of the two days and was willing to travel to continue using this great nursery, after 3 months however I’ve found this tough as the hour drive there took it out of my son and he realised he was far from home/me which unsettled him so have now had to look for a nursery closer to home. I don’t feel he will ever be in such a good and caring nursery as this one which I find upsetting, if I could take anything with me from Ellesmere Port it would be this nursery! Residents are very luckily to have this nursery on their doorstep especially at such competitive rates! It’s also family run with a very low turnover of staff which I now know is so important and which is what I will now look for searching for a new one. I owe a lot to this nursery and am absolutely devastated to see him leave it, I would of loved for him to stay there until he reached school age and for my 4 month old boy to of also attended. To anyone considering this nursery, GO FOR IT! Thank you to all the lovely, understanding and caring staff for all that you have done for Noah and my family, you will be deeply and sadly missed by all of us xxx

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Jessica Tew
8 years ago

I wouldn't put my children anywhere else!! I know all the staff personally and the care is outstanding brilliant OFSTED report with ellexcent teaching! 5 star food rating

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Reviews from Google for Childsplay Nursery. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Date: November 2004

  • October 2022Good
  • January 2017Good
  • July 2013Good
  • September 2008Good
  • November 2004Good

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