Childsplay Day Nursery

A woodland garden, vegetables grown for the kitchen and introductory French give Childsplay Day Nursery a recognisable character. This Colchester setting takes children from one month to five years, combining play indoors with practical experiences outdoors. Its purpose-built accommodation is divided into rooms equipped for different ages, rather than treating babies and older children as one group.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Childsplay Good overall, judged personal development Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. That is a dated assessment, with a clear teaching priority attached: extending children's mathematical understanding through play. The combination matters for parents weighing everyday care alongside preparation for school.

The nursery opens throughout the year, except on Bank Holidays. Government-funded childcare is offered on a stretched basis, with additional hours charged separately.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, exploration and activities planned around each child's development. It is the shared foundation for early-years provision; Childsplay's practical additions include cooking, basic computer skills for children aged three to five, and introductory French for four-year-olds. These bring different kinds of learning into the day: making something, using technology and encountering another language.

Planned activities sit alongside opportunities for children to choose their own play. Each room has materials for construction and creative work, with water and sand play as well as movement and music. The useful point is the variety of ways children can participate. A child can explore materials physically, build something or express an idea through making and movement.

An Individual Learning Journal brings together observations and development needs for each child. Those observations inform subsequent activities, linking the nursery day to the child's next steps rather than relying solely on a shared timetable. Parents also contribute to next-step planning through the key person, giving learning at home a place in that process.

Outdoor and Community Life

The woodland garden area, vegetable plots and outdoor play equipment give children several ways to use the outside space. Growing food has a direct connection with meals: vegetables from the patch are used by the chef. Children can therefore follow an ingredient from growing to eating, rather than gardening being an isolated activity.

In September 2023, experiences beyond the nursery included trying a supermarket self-service checkout. Older children practised handling tools safely in the woodland space, while toddlers took turns on steps. These examples show how ordinary tasks and outdoor play were used to explore technology, responsibility and physical confidence at that time.

The same September 2023 account included visits from trainee dentists to discuss toothbrushing. Children also helped with serving food and clearing up at mealtimes. These were practical opportunities to take responsibility, with health and independence connected to things children could actually do.

Mathematics deserves equal attention. In September 2023, staff did not consistently use play to introduce and extend mathematical vocabulary and ideas. The improvement priority was to develop the early mathematics curriculum from what children could already do. Parents should weigh that specific teaching concern alongside the broader experiences described here.

Relationships and Communication

The Key Person approach allocates a practitioner to each child, creating an identified link between home and nursery. Observations, planning and learning journals are shared with parents. That gives conversations a concrete basis: what the child has tried, what they are developing and what support comes next.

Settling begins with a starter pack and a one page profile form completed with parents. Interests, personality and home-language information help the key person plan for the child before relying on observations made after they start. The process gives families a structured way to explain the small details that matter to their child.

In September 2023, families used a lending library to take reading into the home, and staff used a translation pen to support communication across children's languages. Families also shared recipes, clothing and stories connected with their cultures. These are dated examples of parents contributing to daily learning, beyond receiving updates about it.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Two Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators support practitioners and liaise with the Area SENCo, health visitors and speech and language therapists. The Graduated Response is a cycle of assessment, planning, putting support into practice and reviewing its effect, with parents involved throughout. A personalised plan sets out the intended outcomes, support and review date, making the next steps explicit.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND made good progress, supported by quieter learning spaces, additional resources, increased staffing and contact with external agencies. Those findings describe practice at that inspection; the current support process centres on individual planning and review with families.

Wheelchair access extends to both outdoor and indoor spaces, with toileting facilities for children with additional physical needs. Arrangements for ongoing medication use a medical management plan completed by parents. Before a child moves to school, relevant development documents and personalised plans are shared and discussed with the receiving school so that support can be prepared.

Sessions and Attendance

Childsplay is on Clarendon Way, Colchester, CO1 1XF. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, throughout the year apart from Bank Holidays. This gives families an early opening and an evening closing time to consider against their working day.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01206 368368. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible working families can use the 30-hour entitlement from the term after their child reaches nine months until school age. Childsplay stretches funding across 52 weeks, giving up to 22 funded hours each week. The 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds is also stretched across 52 weeks, providing 11 funded hours weekly. Hours beyond the stretched allowance are charged at the nursery's hourly rate.

The practical distinction is between the entitlement and its weekly delivery: the headline funded hours are spread across the year here. For a family using childcare beyond those weekly funded hours, the additional time forms a separate part of the bill.

A chef prepares homemade hot lunches using fresh ingredients, with breakfast and tea also offered; the menu varies each day and can include vegetables grown by the children. The nursery's food policy provides for dietary requirements and allergies.

• Early mathematics. The September 2023 improvement priority concerned extending mathematical ideas during play. On a visit, ask for an example of how counting, quantities or mathematical language now feature in activities.
• Settling and individual support. The one page profile form and personalised planning give parents a role from the start. Use a visit to discuss how your child's interests, home language or support needs would shape settling.
• Allergy arrangements. The menu policy accommodates allergies and dietary requirements. Allergy-affected families should confirm current kitchen practice and their child's arrangements before starting.
• The whole childcare bill. Funding is stretched, and hours above the weekly allowance are charged separately. What booking pattern would fit your needs?

Childsplay suits families seeking year-round care from infancy through to preschool age, with practical play, outdoor growing and parent involvement in individual planning. French for four-year-olds and computer skills for older children add concrete experiences to the early-years foundation. The September 2023 mathematics priority remains a useful point for discussion, while the stretched funding model deserves careful consideration against the family's intended attendance.