Playdays Opportunity Group

Ice-made dinosaur eggs, cupcake baking and a visit from a goat called Primrose give Playdays Opportunity Group a recognisable character: practical exploration with room for unexpected experiences. Based at Chellaston Community Centre on Barley Croft, it serves children aged two to four and has 50 places in total. This is preschool provision, rather than baby care.

At its 17 January 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged the setting Good overall and found safeguarding effective. The useful detail lies in what children were doing: investigating melting ice, working out how to find matching boots and learning to operate clothes pegs. These small tasks gave children reasons to persist, talk and try things for themselves.

Fully funded sessions form part of the offer. The attendance detail needs a separate look, especially for families whose childcare must cover a working week or school holidays.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning and care, bringing play, communication and personal development into the nursery day. Adult-led activities sit alongside learning through play at Playdays, with social and emotional development an explicit part of its approach. That gives the day both shared activities and opportunities for children to explore.

In January 2025, tools and dinosaur eggs made from ice turned an activity into an investigation: children tried to break the eggs open, then watched water collect as the ice melted. Staff joined the activity rather than simply setting it out. The materials gave children something concrete to test and discuss.

Another January 2025 example involved the pegs holding name cards on a display. Staff demonstrated the pinching movement needed to open them, and children kept trying. It was a small exercise in hand control with a visible purpose, rather than an isolated task.

Baking brought a different kind of practical learning in January 2025. Children measured and weighed cupcake ingredients before decorating the cakes to take home. Science week, described in March 2025, involved experiments and activities for children to investigate. Both examples connect learning with things children can handle, change and make.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor experience is part of the picture. In January 2025, children explored both indoor and outdoor environments; a separate January update described play outside in frosty weather and asked families to dress children for the season. A May 2025 reminder asked parents to supply hats and sunscreen. Clothing therefore matters to participation, rather than being an incidental packing detail.

Community experiences extended beyond the setting in January 2025. Children visited shops and used money to buy items, giving a real purpose to handling money and talking with other people. Organised visits also introduced the work people do to help others.

Primrose, a visiting goat mentioned in March 2025, provided another encounter with the wider world. Children handled the visit gently. This was a particular past experience, rather than a promise of regular animal sessions, but it adds useful texture to the kind of activities Playdays has arranged.

Relationships and Communication

The staff structure includes key workers, safeguarding lead roles and a SENCO. These are practical points of contact: day-to-day relationships, safeguarding responsibilities and special educational needs coordination each have an identified role.

In January 2025, staff took an interest in objects children brought from home and responded attentively to their needs. Familiar belongings became a way to acknowledge children's interests. Staff also shared information about children's learning with parents and offered ideas for activities at home, linking nursery experiences with family life.

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with other early years settings and support services to meet individual needs, including those of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and help children develop skills before school. This is a more useful inclusion picture than a general promise: information sharing and professional cooperation were part of the support.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Health learning had a practical form in January 2025. Children discussed vegetables, selected fresh fruit at snack time and brushed their teeth after lunch. However, children attending only in the morning missed the tooth-brushing activity. Extending that experience to all children was an improvement priority.

Books were another area requiring attention. In January 2025, children enjoyed looking at illustrations with staff, but group storytelling did not consistently draw them into discussion or develop their understanding. The next step was stronger storytelling, with more opportunity for children to contribute. Families should weigh this specific limitation alongside the hands-on activities.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Chellaston Community Centre, Barley Croft, Chellaston, Derby, DE73 6TU. Enquiries can be made by telephone or through the contact form.

In January 2025, opening hours were 9am to 3pm from Tuesday to Friday and 9am to noon on Monday, during term time only. Morning-session attendance was also part of the January 2025 picture. These dated arrangements are useful context for comparing the setting with a family's weekly needs; opening hours describe the operating window, rather than a full menu of bookable sessions.

Funding and Paid Extras

Playdays offers fully funded sessions. In January 2025, funded early education covered two-, three- and four-year-old children. Families should obtain a current written quotation for prices.

Lunch examples include a vegetable-accompanied chicken dinner, jacket potatoes with toppings and salad, and pasta bake; choices depend on availability, with vegetarian, vegan and cultural preferences accommodated. The May 2025 outdoor reminder asked parents to provide sunscreen and hats.

• Fit with the family week. The January 2025 timetable was term-time only, with a shorter Monday opening window. When visiting, ask which current booking pattern and funded arrangement would fit your week, including any charges for meals or consumables.
• Morning-only health learning. In January 2025, morning attendees missed tooth-brushing after lunch. Ask how oral-health activities now reach children attending different sessions.
• Participation in stories. Group storytelling needed more effective discussion and engagement in January 2025. A visit is an opportunity to ask how staff help children offer ideas and understand a shared story.

Playdays suits families seeking preschool experiences for two- to four-year-olds, with practical activities and links to everyday community life.

The strongest examples are concrete: melting ice, measuring ingredients, operating pegs and using money in shops. The Good judgement provides a dated quality benchmark, while storytelling and equal access to tooth-brushing remain clear questions for a visit.