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Playhouse Day Nursery in Smethwick

Ofsted: Needs attention·
3.6(13 parent reviews) ·The Playhouse, 5 St Mary's Road, Smethwick, B67 5DG · Sandwell
Number of places
50 places
Age range
1–4 yrs
Last inspected
Nov 2025
Local authority
Sandwell

About this day nursery

Playhouse Day Nursery, located in Smethwick, has been providing childcare on non-domestic premises since 1991, catering to children aged 1 to 4 years old. The nursery operates Monday to Thursday from 07:30 to 18:00 and on Fridays from 07:30 to 17:30, offering an all-year service.

While the nursery provides a warm and welcoming environment where children quickly form trusting relationships with their key persons and maintain safe sleep routines, there are areas identified for improvement, particularly regarding the progression of children's learning and development. The latest inspection, conducted on November 28, 2025, highlighted that safeguarding standards are met, and leaders are committed to creating an open and responsible culture.

However, the report also noted that children with special educational needs and disabilities, as well as those who are disadvantaged, do not consistently receive precisely targeted support. Additionally, the outdoor area is currently unsafe and unusable, limiting access to daily outdoor play and impacting children's physical development, particularly their gross motor skills.

The nursery has a capacity of 50 children and leaders promptly identify individual needs and involve external professionals when necessary. There is also a focus on clear behavioural expectations and consistent language from practitioners to guide children.

However, the curriculum and daily experiences require more consistency to build on children's prior knowledge and support their choices effectively, with planned improvements in place to address these aspects.

What it's like

Children arrive to warm greetings from staff and settle quickly, forming trusting relationships with their key person. While staff help children feel emotionally secure, the quality of learning experiences varies, with activities often not building on prior knowledge or supporting choice. Opportunities for cooperation and shared play are limited due to low-challenge resources and adult-led routines.

Warm greetingsTrusting relationshipsSafeguarding metIndividual needs promptly identifiedStructured mealtimes

Pricing & funding

Pricing on request

This nursery doesn't publish its fees online. Contact them directly for an up-to-date price list and availability.

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Key facts

Opening hours

Monday - Thursday: 7:30am - 6:00pm; Friday: 7:30am - 5:30pm; Saturday - Sunday: Closed

Age range

6 weeks to 5 years old

Term time / All Year

All_year

Established

1991

Ofsted Inspection — new report card

Needs attention

Last inspected Nov 2025

Headline: Needs attention

Grade summary

Exceptional
—
Strong standard
—
Expected standard
—
Needs attention
Urgent improvement
—

Each dot represents one of the six inspection categories. Headline is the average of the six grades, rounded up.

Category grades

AchievementNeeds attention
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routinesNeeds attention
Children's welfare and wellbeingNeeds attention
Curriculum and teachingNeeds attention
InclusionNeeds attention
Leadership and governanceNeeds attention
Age range
1 to 4
Registers
Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register
Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Playhouse Day Nursery

Last inspected 28 November 2025 · Anne Dyoss

Safeguarding effective

Actions the provider must take

  • Compulsory Childcare Register requirements are not met.

What it's like to attend

Children arrive to warm greetings from staff and settle quickly, forming trusting relationships with their key person. While staff help children feel emotionally secure, the quality of learning experiences varies, with activities often not building on prior knowledge or supporting choice. Opportunities for cooperation and shared play are limited due to low-challenge resources and adult-led routines.

Inspector highlights

  • Safeguarding standards are met, with leaders fulfilling their responsibilities and establishing an open culture.
  • Practitioners build warm and trusting relationships with children, helping babies show secure attachments to their key person.
  • Children settle quickly on arrival and approach adults for reassurance, with personal care needs met appropriately and safe sleep routines followed.
  • Mealtimes run in an orderly way, with children receiving healthy food and supported by practitioners.
  • Leaders establish clear expectations for behaviour, and practitioners use calm and consistent language to guide children.
  • Leaders identify children's individual needs promptly, collecting useful information from parents about home languages, routines, and developmental needs.

Areas to develop

  • 1ensure that staff have the skills, knowledge and confidence to identify and address risks that arise throughout the day
  • 2ensure children access safe outdoor play every day to meet requirements
  • 3design and implement a well-sequenced curriculum that is planned to reflect what children need to learn next across all areas of learning
Inspection #10401445 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are disadvantaged do not benefit from precisely targeted support. Leaders identify children's individual needs promptly, collect useful information from parents, recognise when children may require additional help, and seek and implement advice from external professionals. However, leaders do not monitor well enough to ensure staff use agreed strategies for communication support, particularly for children with language delay, relying on verbal instructions which reduces support during routines and transitions.

Outdoor space

Weaknesses in physical provision, including the lack of safe daily outdoor play, restrict children's gross motor development. The outdoor area is unsafe and out of use, so children miss daily outdoor play, and there is no suitable alternative during wet weather, which reduces children's access to physical activity and fresh air.

EAL / language support

Children who speak English as an additional language make some progress because practitioners use a few key words from home, but leaders do not ensure that planned interactions improve children's communication over time.

Parent Reviews of Playhouse Day Nursery

3.6
(13)
Ms L
8 years ago

This nursery is amazing. The staff are one of a kind. The way they play talk sing dance and learn the children is brilliant. Both my children go and at the age of 16months my son can count to 10. That's a massive achievement for his age. I absolutely love this nursery. The owner is a lovely lady. Always willing to help and always got the time to listen. Even running 3 nurserys. If I have more children this is where I will be sending them. I have made really good friends with the other families. I recommend this nursery 100%. Well done to all the staff and the owner, keep up your hard work. It pays off in all the children. Thank you x

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Rachel Rogers
8 years ago

My daughter has attended the playhouse for Just under a year. The staff are so helpful and friendly, always genuinely happy to see my little girl and nothing is too much trouble to help with. The transition from toddler room to pre school was staggered and times well,making an anxious mummy feel at ease. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a friendly, homely nursery for their children.

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Miss K
9 years ago

The biggest let down for this nursery is the manager. Her attitude is disgusting towards genuine concerns and will do anything to get away from drawing attention to her nursery. Genuine concerns are not looked into properly and when this was addressed "management" feltit is acceptable to be unprofessional and rude. Whilst looking for a new nursery for my child I find it funny that the manager of playhouse has reviewed her own nursery as 5stars, laughable to say the least. The staff who actually work with the children are lovely and I've never had a issue with them but the correct management make a team and the management there is shocking and therefore let's down the whole nursery.

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Jodie Bridges
8 years ago

DISGUSTING. I'm a 24 yr old single mum and i had an issue with my 2 YEAR OLD son being seperated EVERY DAY from the rest of the group. Unable to play or eat with his friends. All because months before he had an issue with biting...which stopped. This is a typical 2 year old phase! Couldn't answer any questions i asked about him being seperated. All we got was "he's not allowed around the children if there are more than 4 of them in as we can't control him." Although i live alone with him and hardly have any issues 'controlling' him so long as he is kept busy playing or something. Another member of staff admitted they did this every day to my son and that she didnt like it, she had kids of her own and wouldn't like it to happen to them either. ALSO, the managers attitude was vile when trying to "speak" about the issues at hand. I tried to explain to her everything that had happened, what her staff had said and i got told i was "unappreciative" of what her and her staff have done for my son. Ripped me off money wise too as i have just found out his new nursery take a lot more money off for a full time position with the funding. I saved £75 at his new nursery, here they only knocked off £30. On top of this, i have walked in NUMEROUS TIMES to find the staff have been sitting around not interacting with the children and the children have been dumped infront of a laptop to watch peppa pig or nursery rhyme videos. Pulled him out straight into a new nursery.

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Bear Bookshop
3 years ago

All three of my children have attended this nursery and loved it! Staff are friendly, caring and always make the children feel happy and secure.

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Playhouse Day Nursery. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Date: June 2010

The most recent inspection point has been hidden because the parsed entry didn't match the headline Ofsted rating (Requires improvement). We're re-checking it against the original report.

  • June 2025Requires improvement
  • July 2023Good
  • May 2023Inadequate
  • May 2017Good
  • August 2013Good
  • June 2010Good

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