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St Mary's Playschool

Ofsted: Good
(Jan 2023)
·
5.0(28 parent reviews)
·Church Centre, The Chase, Chelmsford, CM2 7JU · Essex
Number of places
78 places
Age range
2–4 yrs
Last inspected
Jan 2023
Local authority
Essex

About this day nursery

St Mary's Playschool, established in 1968 and located in Chelmsford, Essex, offers a nurturing and stimulating environment for children aged 2 to 4. The playschool operates during term time, with sessions running from 9am to 3:30pm Monday to Thursday, and 9am to midday on Fridays.

The dedicated team of 11 childcare staff, including two qualified teachers, prioritise creating a welcoming atmosphere where children feel safe and eager to learn. They focus on developing essential skills, promoting independence, and fostering a love for learning through engaging activities like book sharing and cultural celebrations.

The playschool effectively supports children with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language, ensuring every child is included and can thrive. Parents consistently commend the staff for their support and the open communication regarding their children's progress and well-being, contributing to a strong sense of community within the playschool.

What it's like

Children receive a warm welcome from staff and this provides reassurance for them as they say 'goodbye' to their parents. They arrive eager to learn and ready to get involved in all that is on offer. Children thoroughly enjoy their time at playschool with their friends. Older children show their kindness and consideration for younger children when they play together outdoors and at lunchtime when they sit together to eat. Children learn useful skills that prepare them for the next stage in their learning. They are particularly proud of their independence and ability to do things for themselves.

Warm WelcomeStrong Parent PartnershipsSkill DevelopmentEngaging Activities

Pricing & funding

Funding accepted

15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds

Key facts

Opening hours

9am until 3.30pm, Monday to Thursday, and from 9am until midday on Friday

Term time / All Year

Term_time_only

Established

1968

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for St Mary's Playschool

Last inspected 25 January 2023

Overall effectiveness
Good

What it's like to attend

Children receive a warm welcome from staff and this provides reassurance for them as they say 'goodbye' to their parents. They arrive eager to learn and ready to get involved in all that is on offer. Children thoroughly enjoy their time at playschool with their friends. Older children show their kindness and consideration for younger children when they play together outdoors and at lunchtime when they sit together to eat. Children learn useful skills that prepare them for the next stage in their learning. They are particularly proud of their independence and ability to do things for themselves.

Inspector highlights

  • Children receive a warm welcome from staff and this provides reassurance for them as they say 'goodbye' to their parents.
  • Children learn useful skills that prepare them for the next stage in their learning.
  • Children enjoy looking at books and sharing stories with staff. This helps them to build their vocabulary and learn about the world.
  • Managers work closely with staff to design a curriculum that helps every child to build on what they know and can do.
  • Staff make sure that every child is effectively included.
  • Staff take time to reflect on their practice and evaluate the experiences that they offer children.
  • Staff implement highly effective strategies for helping children to learn to stay safe.
  • Staff have a very positive attitude to their work.

Areas to develop

  • 1Review and improve the organisation of some routines so that the transition between activities runs smoothly and children know what is going to happen next.
Inspection #10275795 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

Staff work hard to include specific individual learning programmes within the playschool, such as physiotherapy exercises and signing to support speech, ensuring that every child is effectively included.

Parent Reviews of St Mary's Playschool

5.0
(28)
Joanne Piddington
7 months ago

St Mary’s pre school is a wonderful, nurturing setting for any child. Our local pre school closed down at short notice and we knew we didn’t need a full time nursery but pre schools were few and far between. We stumbled upon St Mary’s after a recommendation from a friend and we didn’t look back! From the first visit we knew it was the perfect place for our daughter to thrive and flourish. She was nurtured, loved and educated by passionate and caring teachers who treated her as though she was one of their own! They constantly strive for the best for the children in their care. Our daughter has started school now and we still speak fondly of St Mary’s and miss all the teachers and staff. I would recommend St Mary’s to anyone looking for a traditional setting where your child’s well-being and happiness is the priority!

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Rebecca Lucy
8 months ago

My Daughter attends St Mary’s Playschool and she absolutely loves it. It’s such an amazing playschool with such a lovely welcoming atmosphere, as soon as I came a viewed St Mary’s I knew straight away that I wanted to send my daughter here. They care so much about the children and put so much time and effort into making them feel happy comfortable and safe in the environment. Since my daughter has been there she has come on leaps and bounds with her confidence. When my son is old enough I will definitely send him to St Mary’s too.

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Laurren Green
7 months ago

Our daughter started at St Mary’s over a month ago and she loves it! She is actually excited to go each morning and is sometimes even sad to leave. Even in her 3 hour morning session she is outside playing, singing, doing crafts, having a snack and more. It’s great we can see the weekly plan on Class Dojo and can easily message staff on the app. We are so happy with the play school and know we made the right decision. Mandy was so lovely and welcoming to us during our tour, as well as all the staff telling us about the different rooms they work in. It feels like a home away from home for little ones. You can really feel the kind and caring motherly energy from all the staff. I appreciate that so much and have so much confidence that my little girl is in great hands. Thank you all!

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Sarah
8 months ago

St Mary’s Playschool is such a lovely setting. My son attended from the age of 2 until he left to go to school- in that time he learnt an incredible amount and totally thrived. He left “school ready” which is a total credit to the hard work put in by the teachers here. All of the staff genuinely care about all of the children and go above and beyond every single day. I would not send my children anywhere else- nowhere could compete with the quality of staff and the amount of space the children have to play and learn both inside and outside. So much so that I can’t wait for my daughter to join the Ladybirds class in a few months time.

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Tom Gurden
7 months ago

St Mary’s is a lovely little Playschool and we were so happy we found it. It’s a little gem. Both of our children went there even though it wasn’t the nearest or most convenient option as all the staff and teachers (who are actually teachers or were teachers at school) are passionate about the children and unlike most nurseries and day care (who just seem to day sit the children) here they do actually teach in preparation for school. Highly recommended and we will miss them.

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Inspection history

Date: March 2015

  • January 2023Good
  • January 2019Good
  • March 2015Good

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