Skendleby Playgroup

Cooking, baking and helping to make snacks give Skendleby Playgroup a practical, hands-on character. Children take part at least once a week, bringing food preparation into their play rather than leaving it entirely to adults. The setting has capacity for 16 children in total, distinct from the number who may attend across different days.

At its July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the playgroup Good and found its safeguarding arrangements effective. The strongest practical examples concerned children doing things for themselves: managing lunch-box items, looking after garden equipment and working out solutions during play. Those observations belong to July 2025, but give parents a concrete picture of the provision behind the judgement.

Care extends from birth to 15 years across the playgroup and its holiday provision. Opening hours run from 8am to 6pm on weekdays, with provision across the year subject to holiday closures.

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: play supports communication, physical development and early mathematical understanding. Here, cooking and baking add a regular practical activity, with children helping to prepare different foods and having opportunities to try them. Making something to eat gives the activity a clear purpose.

In July 2025, very young children practised balance with an adult holding their hands and reached towards suspended balls. Blocks offered another physical challenge, with staff demonstrating stacking and encouraging further attempts. These were simple activities with different demands: movement, coordination and persistence.

Older children's play brought thinking and language together. In July 2025, a ball becoming stuck inside a pipe prompted children to work out how to release it; moving the pipe became their solution. Staff also introduced written numbers and shapes. Story sessions gave older children opportunities to recall familiar wording, while questions about striped animals encouraged them to draw on what they knew.

Outdoor play included responsibility as well as activity. In July 2025, older children dried wet garden equipment before using it. That small task made them participants in looking after their surroundings. The current school readiness programme is intended to support children moving on to school. Playgroup activities also emphasise learning through play.

Settling was gradual in July 2025. Children could attend shorter introductory visits before moving to their fuller attendance pattern, giving them time to become familiar with staff and routines. Very young children received close physical reassurance, including gentle touch to help them fall asleep. The emphasis was on familiarity and comfort.

Every member of staff holds enhanced DBS checks, paediatric first-aid certificates and food-hygiene certification. Continuing training includes safeguarding and SENCO topics. These are concrete arrangements around care and staff development; the dated safeguarding judgement remains the relevant assessment of effectiveness.

Communication with families connected nursery activities with home life in July 2025. Staff explained what children had enjoyed and helped parents continue learning, including words for parts of the body. Children were also encouraged to share toys and take turns, with praise recognising their efforts.

At that time, children brought lunch boxes and staff supplied nutritious snacks, supported by supermarket donations; surplus food went home with parents. Staff passed learning and development information to schools when children moved on, but did not exchange equivalent information with other early years settings that children also attended. For children dividing their week between providers, that was an important limitation in coordinating their experiences.

Sessions and Attendance

The playgroup opens Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, throughout the year. It closes on bank holidays and for two weeks over Christmas. Holiday childcare also serves school-age children, so the setting's offer reaches beyond its early-years provision.

Getting There

The address is Skendleby Old School, Skendleby, Spilsby, PE23 4QE. The combination of early-years care and holiday childcare may be useful for families whose children need different provision at different stages.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for children from nine months, including children over two. Private, non-funded childcare is also offered for children from birth to five. Families should obtain a current written quotation for their intended attendance; holiday-club prices are supplied through direct contact.

• Participation in group activities. In July 2025, some younger children lost interest during planned group time, while some older children needed more help to gain confidence socially. Ask how activities now accommodate children at different stages and keep each child involved.
• Attendance at another setting. The July 2025 improvement priorities included exchanging developmental information with other early years providers. Families using more than one setting should discuss how staff bring those experiences together.
• The full cost of attendance. Funded and private childcare sit alongside holiday provision. Ask for one written breakdown covering the intended pattern, meals and non-food consumables, so the arrangements are clear before joining.

Skendleby Playgroup suits families looking for practical play, regular food-making activities and a setting that also provides school-holiday childcare. Its July 2025 Good judgement sits alongside tangible examples of independence, physical play and problem-solving. The two improvement priorities deserve attention: including every child in group activities and coordinating learning when children attend another provider. Those are useful subjects for a visit, because they concern the child's everyday experience rather than the grade alone.