Partou Playdays Day Nursery & Pre-school

Woodland adventures and a generous outdoor play space give Playdays its strongest character. Based in Blackrod's Old Grammar School, this nursery combines daily outdoor activity with regular village outings, music and dance. Its appeal is concrete: children have space to move, opportunities to explore beyond the nursery and indoor playrooms equipped with natural materials.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 6 December 2024 inspection. That judgement sits alongside two clear priorities for improvement: more useful coaching for staff and better organisation of adult-led group activities. These deserve attention alongside the outdoor offer.

Partou Playdays Day Nursery & Pre-school accepts children aged 0 to 60 months. Full-day, morning and afternoon sessions serve different family routines, with an additional early drop-off option. The combination makes this more than a single-pattern childcare choice.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play supports communication, movement, relationships and growing independence. At Playdays, activities are shaped around children's interests, and the curriculum changes with each cohort. That gives practitioners a practical starting point for choosing experiences children want to join.

Large indoor playrooms contain natural resources for imaginative play. Music sessions and dance classes add opportunities to experiment with sound, rhythm and movement; dance also gives children another way to express themselves. These sit alongside the everyday learning rather than replacing it.

In December 2024, babies explored water and watched their reflections in mirrors positioned at their level. Baby yoga provided another physical activity, while older children developed elaborate outdoor pretend games. These examples show different routes into learning: sensory exploration for the youngest children and sustained imagination for older ones.

Reading also had a clear place in the December 2024 day. Staff animated stories, children discussed characters, and visits to the local library led to books being taken home to share. The useful connection was between nursery and home: a story could continue after the nursery day ended.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily outdoor time is a substantial part of the current offer. The large outdoor space gives children room for climbing, running and play, while forest adventures extend their experience into woodland. Forest school sessions use local wooded areas for outdoor exploration, giving nature a place in children's learning beyond the nursery grounds.

Regular outings include local parks and seasonal walks around Blackrod. These are useful additions for families who value children becoming familiar with their village and encountering different places and people. The frequency is regular, rather than a fixed weekly promise.

In December 2024, outdoor activities included den building, ring games and obstacle courses. Children also talked enthusiastically about swimming lessons. Those are dated examples of the nursery day, while the current outdoor offer centres on daily play, woodland experiences and community outings.

Relationships and Communication

Online learning journals give families a way to follow their child's experiences and development. Regular stay-and-play sessions offer something different: parents and carers can take part in activities with their child. Together, these provide both updates from staff and opportunities to understand how learning happens inside the nursery.

In December 2024, parents received updates and suggestions for games and activities to continue at home. Children practised everyday independence by managing coats and helping put toys away. This made preparation for school practical, with self-care and participation built into ordinary routines rather than treated as a separate exercise.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children learning English as an additional language effective, with timely interventions helping children make progress. The detail matters: support involved obtaining help and putting it into practice, rather than relying on a general statement of inclusion.

In December 2024, staff helped children recognise emotions, talk about feelings and use strategies to manage their behaviour. Clear expectations supported courteous behaviour towards others. These were practical parts of the children's day, connecting emotional understanding with how they played together.

There was also a weakness in support for practitioners. In December 2024, some staff lacked clear guidance about how to improve their work because coaching and supervision needed further development. For families, this is a useful distinction: positive relationships and appealing activities still need consistent professional support behind them.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is at The Old Grammar School, 76 Church Street, Blackrod, Bolton, BL6 5EQ. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm. These are the opening window; the separately bookable early drop-off session runs from 7.30am to 8am.

A full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Morning sessions finish at 1pm after an 8am start, while afternoon sessions run from 1pm until 6pm. A weekly rate is also offered for the full-day pattern. This gives families a choice between a complete day and either part of it, rather than treating opening hours as the only attendance option.

Year-round childcare and term-time-only places are offered. Bank holidays are closures, Christmas Eve finishes at 4pm, and the nursery closes between Christmas and New Year. Charges run across 51 weeks, including bank holidays, so the charging calendar and attendance calendar need to be read together.

Getting There

On-site parking supports drop-offs and collections at the Church Street address.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through Bolton Local Authority, with 15 or 30 hours per week across 38 term weeks, subject to the relevant entitlement. For year-round attendance, funding is stretched across 51 weeks: the corresponding weekly allocations are 11.17 or 22.35 hours. Term-time attendance uses the entitlement across the term weeks instead.

Care, food and consumables are separate parts of the bill. Meals, snacks and drinks are charged separately; nappies, wipes and sun cream are covered by the separate consumables charge, and both categories remain chargeable during funded sessions. Funding applies to care, so a funded entitlement should not be read as an all-inclusive package.

Registration involves either a non-refundable registration fee or a deposit to reserve a place, subject to eligibility under the terms and conditions. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The charge structure matters as much as the headline attendance pattern when comparing the total cost of different routines.

• Adult-led group time. In December 2024, some children lost interest when seated activities continued too long. During a visit, ask how these activities now accommodate children who need to move or change task.
• Staff coaching. December 2024 identified a need for clearer supervision and coaching. Ask how practitioners receive feedback and turn it into changes in their daily work.
• Funding and the annual bill. Meals and consumables are charged during funded sessions, and billing covers bank holidays within the 51-week charging year. A written quotation should show how these components apply to your chosen attendance pattern.
• Your child's first weeks. Stay-and-play sessions already bring families into nursery activities. Ask how settling visits and the key-person relationship would be arranged for your child.

Playdays suits families seeking either full-day childcare or morning and afternoon sessions, with outdoor activity and regular community outings as part of the offer. Woodland experiences, dance and opportunities for parents to join activities give it a recognisable character.

The balance is straightforward: the December 2024 Good judgement supports consideration, while group-time organisation and staff coaching remain the useful questions to pursue. Families comparing funded arrangements should also weigh separate food and consumables charges alongside the attendance pattern.