Play Away Day Nursery, West End

Three buildings, gardens and woodland give Play Away Day Nursery, West End a recognisable physical character. Children have spaces arranged by developmental stage, with large windows and movement between indoor and outdoor areas. The setting takes children from 3 months to 5 years and has capacity for 100 children in total. Its appeal rests on space to explore and practical opportunities to make choices.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised the support enabling children with SEND to participate and progress. That judgement is dated: later safeguarding action also matters to the decision, alongside the current curriculum and care arrangements.

Full days, mornings and afternoons are offered, with a minimum weekly booking that includes a Monday or Friday. This is a setting for families able to build a regular attendance pattern rather than book occasional sessions.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play and children's development and care. Alongside it, the group-wide curriculum adds five named strands, each with a practical expression rather than just a heading. Independence and Confidence includes children choosing resources, serving food themselves and contributing through a preschool children's committee. Those are opportunities to practise decisions in ordinary nursery life.

All About Me centres on children's identity, relationships and respectful care. The World Around Us brings environmental responsibility and cultural understanding into the day, including Eco-Reps and festival celebrations. Enabling Environment uses loose parts and experiences connected to what children already know, giving them materials to investigate and rearrange. Wellbeing includes a dedicated key person, yoga and meditation. Together, these strands describe what the group adds alongside the statutory framework; they do not replace it.

In March 2023, children selected their own play materials, while older children helped prepare lunch tables, took food for themselves and cleared plates afterwards. Yoga gave older children opportunities to demonstrate movements to one another. These examples put independence into concrete terms: children were doing manageable tasks rather than having every step completed for them.

There were limits to the teaching in March 2023. Adults did not reliably develop children's discoveries during self-directed play into further learning. Examples included experimenting with sounds from metal objects and looking through coloured shapes. The issue was the response to curiosity, rather than a shortage of things to explore.

Outdoor and Community Life

Dedicated gardens and woodland extend the setting beyond its buildings. Resources are arranged for different developmental stages, and indoor and outdoor areas connect through free flow. For families whose children enjoy movement and investigation, the physical layout is a substantial part of the offer.

In March 2023, younger children practised balancing on boards supported by old tyres. Festival activities also made cultural learning tangible: Chinese New Year included a child's pet rabbits, while Diwali involved traditional clothing and Indian dancing. These were examples from that period, rather than a promise of a recurring events calendar.

Relationships and Communication

A dedicated key person supports the child's relationship with nursery, and parents communicate closely with key workers. This gives families an identified point of contact alongside the wider team. The group-wide Wellbeing strand connects that relationship with activities such as meditation and yoga.

In March 2023, a lending library reached children across the age groups, linking nursery books with reading at home. Younger children also explored personal picture books. These are useful examples of continuity between home and nursery, rather than treating learning as something confined to the session.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In March 2023, staff worked with families and external agencies around individual care plans, SEND and complex medical needs. Activities and care were adapted for individual children, and additional funding supported interests and skills such as early writing. The practical mechanism matters: support involved changing the child's experience and working with others around their needs.

Care routines also needed attention in March 2023. Children's learning and concentration were disrupted during activities, with group stories and nappy-changing routines among the examples. The improvement request was to review care routines to prevent those disruptions.

Ofsted's January and July 2025 outcomes both recorded responses to issues with safeguarding procedures. In January, staff revisited those procedures and record keeping was improved; July's completed actions covered handling allegations against adults, safeguarding training and notifying child-protection agencies. This repeated issue belongs alongside the older Good judgement when families assess care.

Meals are cooked at the nursery each day, using seasonal ingredients. This makes food preparation part of the setting's daily operation.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6.30pm, across 51 weeks, closing for public holidays and a week at Christmas. Opening hours and booked sessions serve different purposes: the standard full day runs from 8am to 6pm, the morning from 8am to 1pm, and the afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. An Early Start runs from 7.30am to 8am.

Families must book at least two full days or four morning or afternoon sessions each week, including a Monday or Friday. That condition shapes both working-week arrangements and the cost of a part-week place. Permanent session changes and cancellations require one calendar month's notice.

Getting There

The address is 1-5 Chapel Road, West End, Southampton, SO30 3FE, opposite Asda in a residential area. Onsite parking and a buggy store provide practical options for families travelling by car or with a pushchair.

Enquiries and tour bookings are available through the nursery's contact routes. A tour can include the rooms, outdoor areas, curriculum and funding arrangements.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for children aged 9 months to 4 years through the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements, with 2 Help funding also accepted. The standard arrangement stretches entitlement across the operating year. Funded hours can be taken alone or combined with paid hours, and can be used within day, morning or afternoon sessions between 8am and 6pm, subject to availability.

Private session fees include meals and consumables except nappies and wipes; during funded hours, food, consumables and enrichment are charged separately through the optional Essentials Package. Its consumables include cream, suncream and nappy bags, and families can opt out before term starts by contacting the manager, with suitable alternatives or arrangements for disposal potentially required under nursery policy.

The Enrichment Programme covers additional experiences that may include cooking, gardening, celebrations and Forest School inspired activities, an outdoor learning element. These are possible components, rather than a guaranteed timetable. A registration charge and deposit apply, both waived for fully funded places; the deposit is credited against the final invoice. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Regular attendance. The minimum is two full days or four morning or afternoon sessions, including Monday or Friday. Test that pattern against the days your family actually needs.
• Learning and care routines. In March 2023, children's independent discoveries were not consistently extended, and personal-care routines interrupted activities. On a tour, ask how staff now develop spontaneous interests while protecting story and play time.
• Safeguarding procedures. Issues with safeguarding procedures featured in both the January and July 2025 outcomes, with actions recorded as completed. Ask how staff now recognise and report concerns about adults, and how leaders monitor those procedures.
• Funded-session extras. The Essentials Package is optional and separately charged during funded hours. Discuss the opt-out arrangements before term starts so the booking and any alternatives fit your family.

Play Away West End suits families seeking either full-day attendance or regular morning or afternoon sessions, with gardens, woodland and choices built into the nursery day. The preschool committee, Eco-Reps and self-service at meals give the group-wide curriculum concrete form.

The decision also calls for attention to care practice. The March 2023 Good judgement is a useful reference, while the repeated issues with safeguarding procedures, followed by completed actions, make current monitoring an important conversation. Families comfortable with the weekly booking minimum and stretched funding model have a clear practical basis for considering this setting.